“I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.”
— Warren Buffett
The above quote from Warren Buffett is timeless, and brings into focus the choice about time horizon that any investor should think about before buying a stock they are considering. Behind every stock is an actual business; what will that business look like over a five year period?
Today, let’s look backwards in time to 2020, and take a look at what happened to investors who asked that very question about Monster Beverage Corp (NASD: MNST), by taking a look at the investment outcome over a five year holding period.
| Start date: | 09/08/2020 |
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| End date: | 09/04/2025 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $40.05 | ||||
| End price/share: | $63.45 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 249.69 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 249.69 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $0.00 | ||||
| Total return: | 58.43% | ||||
| Average annual return: | 9.66% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $15,845.72 | ||||
The above analysis shows the five year investment result worked out well, with an annualized rate of return of 9.66%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 5 years ago into $15,845.72 today (as of 09/04/2025). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 58.43% (something to think about: how might MNST shares perform over the next 5 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]
One more piece of investment wisdom to leave you with:
“In the long run, we are all dead.” — John Maynard Keynes
