“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
— 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 two-decade period?
Today, let’s look backwards in time to 2006, and take a look at what happened to investors who asked that very question about Tyler Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: TYL), by taking a look at the investment outcome over a two-decade holding period.
| Start date: | 01/03/2006 |
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| End date: | 12/31/2025 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $8.91 | ||||
| End price/share: | $453.95 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 1,122.33 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 1,122.33 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $0.00 | ||||
| Total return: | 4,994.84% | ||||
| Average annual return: | 21.71% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $509,322.41 | ||||
As shown above, the two-decade investment result worked out exceptionally well, with an annualized rate of return of 21.71%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 20 years ago into $509,322.41 today (as of 12/31/2025). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 4,994.84% (something to think about: how might TYL shares perform over the next 20 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]
One more investment quote to leave you with:
“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it; he who doesn’t, pays it.” — Albert Einstein
