“Only buy something that you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.”
— Warren Buffett
A long-term holding period can change how stock performance is evaluated. Rather than focusing on short-term volatility, a 10-year lens highlights the combined effect of share-price appreciation, dividends, and reinvestment. Using that framework, the results for American International Group Inc (NYSE: AIG) show how a $10,000 investment made in 2016 would have developed through 2026.
Over that period, AIG produced a positive total return, with reinvested dividends contributing materially to the ending value. The exercise is useful not only as a historical snapshot of AIG stock performance, but also as a reminder that total return often differs meaningfully from price return alone.
AIG 10-Year Investment Return
| Start date: | 04/28/2016 |
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| End date: | 04/27/2026 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $55.83 | ||||
| End price/share: | $74.13 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 179.12 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 229.40 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $13.80 | ||||
| Total return: | 70.05% | ||||
| Average annual return: | 5.45% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $17,003.13 | ||||
A $10,000 investment in AIG on 04/28/2016 would have grown to $17,003.13 by 04/27/2026, assuming dividends were reinvested. That equates to a total return of 70.05% and an average annual return of 5.45%.
Those figures were computed using the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator. In this framework, dividend payments are assumed to be reinvested into additional shares on the ex-dividend date using the closing price.
What Drove the Return
AIG’s 10-year result reflects two distinct sources of return:
- Share-price appreciation: the stock rose from $55.83 to $74.13 over the measurement period.
- Dividend income and reinvestment: cumulative dividends reinvested totaled $13.80 per original share, increasing the share count from 179.12 to 229.40.
This distinction matters. Looking only at the stock price would understate the full economic result. Reinvestment added more than 50 shares to the initial position, demonstrating how dividend compounding can meaningfully affect long-term performance even when the dividend yield is moderate rather than high.
AIG Dividend Yield and Yield on Cost
Based on the most recent annualized dividend rate of $1.80 per share, AIG has a current yield of approximately 2.43% using the ending share price of $74.13.
Another useful way to view the dividend is through yield on cost. This measures the current annualized dividend against the original purchase price rather than the current market price.
- Current annualized dividend: $1.80 per share
- Original purchase price: $55.83 per share
- Yield on cost: 4.35%
Yield on cost does not indicate what a new buyer would earn at today’s price, but it does show how income generation can improve over time for a long-held position when the dividend is maintained or increased.
Key Takeaways From A 10-Year AIG Holding Period
The historical result for AIG stock highlights several practical points:
- Total return is the relevant measure for long-term performance, not price change alone.
- Dividend reinvestment can materially increase ending share count and portfolio value over time.
- A positive 10-year result does not require uninterrupted stock-price momentum; compounding works across uneven market periods.
- For dividend-paying financial stocks, income can represent a meaningful share of long-run returns.
For AIG specifically, the period shows a moderate but positive annualized return, supported by both capital appreciation and dividends. That combination is often more informative than any single-year result, particularly for investors assessing long-duration holding outcomes.
Here’s one more investment quote before you go:
“The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect. You need a temperament that neither derives great pleasure from being with the crowd or against the crowd.” — Warren Buffett
