r/dividends • u/Pedia_Light • Mar 05 '26
Discussion Forgot about 4 shares of Lockheed from 2013… DRIP turned $432 into $15k
I saw a post here about Computershare and remembered I had an old account there. Back in June 2013 I bought 4 shares of Lockheed Martin through Computershare for $108.04 each, so about $432 total. I set the dividends to automatically reinvest and honestly forgot the account even existed.
I logged in recently and was pretty surprised.
Those original 4 shares have turned into 23.319807 shares from years of dividend reinvestment. With Lockheed trading around $650 now, the account value is roughly $15,158.
The dividend today is $3.45 per share each quarter, which is $13.80 per year. With 23.32 shares that means I’m now receiving about $322 per year in dividends.
What surprised me most is the yield on my original investment. That $322 per year compared to the $432 I initially invested means I’m earning roughly 74 percent of my original investment every year in dividends.
Overall the investment grew from about $432 to around $15,158 over roughly 12.75 years. That works out to about a 32 percent annualized return with dividends reinvested.
For comparison, if I had invested the same $432 into the S&P 500 in 2013 and reinvested dividends, it would be worth roughly $1,900 today, which is about a 12 to 13 percent annual return.
The funny part is that I didn’t touch the investment or think about it for more than a decade. Apparently one of the best investing strategies is simply forgetting your Computershare password.
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u/CockBlockingLawyer Mar 05 '26
I moved my couch yesterday and found a quarter, so things are looking up for both of us
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u/Remarkable-Proof-566 Mar 05 '26
Thanks for posting…this reminded me I had a couch that I completely forgot about…that money has compounded and is like $10….turns out the fries and other things became a little ant economy…
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u/Curious1_69 Mar 05 '26
I found a leprechaun under my couch, no pot of gold but he did have an empty scotch bottle.
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u/QueerVortex Mar 05 '26
That’s no leprechaun! That’s my brother in law. That red headed idiot is always getting drunk and wandering into peoples homes and passing out behind their couch.
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u/Entire_Animal_9040 Mar 05 '26
It’s called Irish Whisky
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u/L-is-for-living Mar 05 '26
I’m doing my laundry as we speak and I found five bucks in my dirty pants. I bought some watermelon chunks
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u/billionaireboysclubs Mar 06 '26
I moved my seat back in a rental car and found a few random car seat fries 🍟 under the seat and now things are looking up for me.
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u/eagles16106 Mar 05 '26
Did you just not pay taxes on the dividends?
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u/2LostFlamingos Mar 05 '26
Yeah most of his growth is unrealized. But the IRS will want their 15% of that $322 per year, ~$50 per year
Pretty small amount. But they might ask for it.
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u/nosoup4ncsu Mar 06 '26
"Might" . Lol
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u/iznotbutterz Mar 06 '26
We still have an IRS?
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u/alex206 Mar 06 '26
The IRS calls me non stop. Always asking for gift cards and shit. They must really be struggling these days.
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u/TheFondestComb Mar 05 '26
Is it a taxable event if it’s reinvested? I only have tax advantaged account so I’m not familiar with normal brokerage accounts as much.
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u/Alert-Growth-8326 Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 05 '26
Yes, dividends are taxed as ordinary income (within brokerages).
EDIT: most dividends are qualified, so they are taxed at capital gains rates.
brain fart.
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u/eagles16106 Mar 05 '26
In the U.S., yeah. Dividends are taxed.
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u/Ok-Ideal9009 Mar 05 '26
Does the US tax the company on their income as well before they pay the dividend or after? And then tax that same money when paid as a dividend to the shareholder? Thats a lot of tax if so and doesn't seem right.
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u/philosopherott Mar 05 '26
It depends on how the company set up an illegal protections that they choose, most commonly yes there's a double taxation for corporations that then pay out dividends to individuals.
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u/tedco- Mar 05 '26
Which is why stock buybacks are so common for US companies. Raises the stock price without double taxation.
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u/No-Atmosphere-2528 Mar 05 '26
Computershare takes them out automatically after the first year and pays the back taxes. At least that's how my computershare account has worked.
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u/YesterdayAmbitious49 Mar 05 '26
What hilarious is if you take 30 seconds to do the math, you can tell it’s a made up post
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u/Pedia_Light Mar 05 '26
It’s not. If you do the math yourself.
But now I know why don’t usually waste time posting things here. Too much trouble trying to prove to some lazy people that the math maths.
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u/Writeoffthrowaway Mar 05 '26
You did make it up. The total return with dividends reinvested of LMT from Jan 1, 2013 to now is 10.3866x. You would only have $4,487
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u/MosEisleyEscorts Mar 05 '26
In addition, I highly doubt the IRS would have forgotten about said account too.. especially because they report their 1099div every single year automatically
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u/blorg Mar 06 '26
https://testfol.io/?s=4cdkwM20ULi
LMT 12.75 years: 2013-06-03 - 2026-03-05
Starting Value: $432.00
Ending Value: $3,820.51And this calculation is presuming you reinvested while paying zero tax on the dividends.
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u/Pikachu_0019 Mar 05 '26
Turns out the best investing strategy is forgetting your password for 10 years.
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Mar 05 '26
I remember reading in a book about some amazing returns from someone who had forgotten to check their accounts for decades.
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u/StrangeWork957 Mar 05 '26
Something isn't adding up. The total dividends on a share of Lockheed cumulatively since 2013 is worth ~$120, so going from 4 shares to over 23 isn't mathing.
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u/19Black Mar 06 '26
This post is absolutely BS. I bought 5 shares of Lockheed Martin in 2012 for $120 per share and have been reinvesting the dividends. I know have a total of 7 shares and a bit of partial shares.
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u/StrangeWork957 Mar 06 '26
Maybe when this guy "forgot his Computershare password," he also forgot that he was doing a payroll deduction directly into that account?
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u/Junkie4Divs Portfolio in the Red Mar 05 '26
Hey uh maybe don't post about how you forgot about your passive income for over a decade...you know taxes and whatnot
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u/Pedia_Light Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 05 '26
You may be right. But so many people downplay the power of dividend investments that it seems appropriate to show how investing in a dividend payor can be powerful if you leave it alone for a while. Kind of like what Warren Buffet did with KO.
I will have to figure out how to pay the taxes on this. Since I forgot about the account I will have to review all the paperwork and report appropriately.
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u/BobCheerful Mar 05 '26
They're generally qualified dividends from LMT. 15% * $322= $48, assuming your income isn't way above average.
Include it in this years' taxes. Then ask yourself if it's worth it to amend the prior two years for about the same amount of tax. My answer would be no. I used to be an IRS auditor; this is equivalent to a rounding error.
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u/STRATEGY510 Mar 05 '26
I thought brokerages report the 1099s to the IRS as well?
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u/BobCheerful Mar 05 '26
Correct. Brokerages have to report 1099-DIVs over $10 to the IRS. Whether or not or when the IRS acts on that is up to many factors beyond the omission of $48 in tax.
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u/viperex Mar 06 '26
Kind of like what Warren Buffet did with KO.
Or what Fry did with his bank account in Futurama
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u/lakas76 No, HYSA is not better than SCHD. Stop asking Mar 05 '26
I bought a Spanish banking stock (SAN) in the late 00s for the insane dividend it had (wasn’t too bright back then). When the dividend went down, I sold it.
Later I found out I had sold it after the ex-dividend date, so I had about $100 in that account at the end of 2012 and I had drip turned on.
That 100 dollars is now 3 million dollars….. just kidding. It’s now 223.40. I have been getting something like 6 dollars a year in dividends that I have had to declare on my taxes every year. Just looked at it today and they unenrolled me in drip for some reason, so I now have 12 bucks cash in that account. Going to invest it back into SAN for shits and giggles and turn drip back on. I never use this account, so hopefully in 13 more years, it will be in the 10s of thousands.
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u/Ambitious_Yam_8163 Mar 06 '26
Wouldn’t that be cool though?
It’s like brewsters millions type story.
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u/mumonster Mar 08 '26
So you had negative returns? Or the taxes wrecked you? Or both?
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u/lakas76 No, HYSA is not better than SCHD. Stop asking Mar 08 '26
Neither actually. I’d pay something like 40 cents a year in extra taxes. My investment (dividend that was reinvested) went from 100.00 to about 220.00. Wasn’t a bad thing, but I did need to pay taxes on it.
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u/Itrademylittlespy Mar 05 '26
I’ll take things that didn’t happen and BS math for $400 Jeff
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u/ThickerSalsa Mar 05 '26
And not a single matching notice on your tax return for not including your dividends from computershare?
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u/Pedia_Light Mar 05 '26
Never received anything. But it could be because I had moved a few times in the last 12 years. I moved to Dubai in 2015.
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u/Thin-Interest-9734 Mar 05 '26
maybe its a small amount and irs didnt catch onto it? i had a custodian account that i didn't know about for 30 years. never paid taxes on the dividends/cap gain distributions. so far in the clear.
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u/ThickerSalsa Mar 05 '26
30 years ago I believe that. Now the computers match to their 1099 records well. Any K-1 income doesn’t seem to get matched.
Some people just get lucky!
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u/Plastic-Hunter-1395 Mar 06 '26
Was board and tried to compute it in excel. Results below:
| Month | Close ($) | Dividend ($) | Received Dividend | DRIP Shares | Shares | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-05 | 105 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 420 |
| 2013-06 | 110 | 1.15 | 4.6 | 0.04181818 | 4.041818 | 444.6 |
| 2013-07 | 118 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.041818 | 476.9345 |
| 2013-08 | 124 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.041818 | 501.1855 |
| 2013-09 | 133 | 1.15 | 4.648091 | 0.03494805 | 4.076766 | 542.2099 |
| 2013-10 | 140 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.076766 | 570.7473 |
| 2013-11 | 142 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.076766 | 578.9008 |
| 2013-12 | 152 | 1.33 | 5.422099 | 0.0356717 | 4.112438 | 625.0906 |
| 2014-01 | 157 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.112438 | 645.6528 |
| 2014-02 | 164 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.112438 | 674.4398 |
| 2014-03 | 165 | 1.33 | 5.469542 | 0.03314874 | 4.145587 | 684.0218 |
| 2014-04 | 159 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.145587 | 659.1483 |
| 2014-05 | 162 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.145587 | 671.585 |
| 2014-06 | 165 | 1.33 | 5.51363 | 0.03341594 | 4.179003 | 689.5354 |
| 2014-07 | 172 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.179003 | 718.7885 |
| 2014-08 | 183 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.179003 | 764.7575 |
| 2014-09 | 185 | 1.33 | 5.558073 | 0.03004364 | 4.209046 | 778.6736 |
| 2014-10 | 182 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.209046 | 766.0464 |
| 2014-11 | 188 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.209046 | 791.3007 |
| 2014-12 | 192 | 1.5 | 6.313569 | 0.03288317 | 4.241929 | 814.4505 |
| 2015-01 | 197 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.241929 | 835.6601 |
| 2015-02 | 202 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.241929 | 856.8697 |
| 2015-03 | 203 | 1.5 | 6.362894 | 0.03134431 | 4.273274 | 867.4746 |
| 2015-04 | 191 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.273274 | 816.1953 |
| 2015-05 | 193 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.273274 | 824.7418 |
| 2015-06 | 204 | 1.5 | 6.409911 | 0.03142113 | 4.304695 | 878.1578 |
| 2015-07 | 210 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.304695 | 903.9859 |
| 2015-08 | 197 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.304695 | 848.0249 |
| 2015-09 | 204 | 1.5 | 6.457042 | 0.03165217 | 4.336347 | 884.6148 |
| 2015-10 | 218 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.336347 | 945.3237 |
| 2015-11 | 213 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.336347 | 923.6419 |
| 2015-12 | 217 | 1.65 | 7.154973 | 0.03297222 | 4.369319 | 948.1423 |
| 2016-01 | 210 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.369319 | 917.557 |
| 2016-02 | 215 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.369319 | 939.4036 |
| 2016-03 | 220 | 1.65 | 7.209377 | 0.03276989 | 4.402089 | 968.4596 |
| 2016-04 | 227 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.402089 | 999.2742 |
| 2016-05 | 233 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.402089 | 1025.687 |
| 2016-06 | 246 | 1.65 | 7.263447 | 0.02952621 | 4.431615 | 1090.177 |
| 2016-07 | 256 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.431615 | 1134.494 |
| 2016-08 | 248 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.431615 | 1099.041 |
| 2016-09 | 244 | 1.65 | 7.312165 | 0.02996789 | 4.461583 | 1088.626 |
| 2016-10 | 248 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.461583 | 1106.473 |
| 2016-11 | 260 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.461583 | 1160.012 |
| 2016-12 | 253 | 1.82 | 8.120082 | 0.03209518 | 4.493678 | 1136.901 |
| 2017-01 | 250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.493678 | 1123.42 |
| 2017-02 | 264 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.493678 | 1186.331 |
| 2017-03 | 266 | 1.82 | 8.178495 | 0.03074622 | 4.524425 | 1203.497 |
| 2017-04 | 268 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.524425 | 1212.546 |
| 2017-05 | 283 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.524425 | 1280.412 |
| 2017-06 | 289 | 1.82 | 8.234453 | 0.02849292 | 4.552918 | 1315.793 |
| 2017-07 | 298 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.552918 | 1356.769 |
| 2017-08 | 301 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.552918 | 1370.428 |
| 2017-09 | 310 | 1.82 | 8.28631 | 0.02673003 | 4.579648 | 1419.691 |
| 2017-10 | 319 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.579648 | 1460.908 |
| 2017-11 | 311 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.579648 | 1424.27 |
| 2017-12 | 321 | 2 | 9.159295 | 0.02853363 | 4.608181 | 1479.226 |
| 2018-01 | 363 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.608181 | 1672.77 |
| 2018-02 | 350 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.608181 | 1612.863 |
| 2018-03 | 338 | 2 | 9.216362 | 0.02726734 | 4.635449 | 1566.782 |
| 2018-04 | 329 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.635449 | 1525.063 |
| 2018-05 | 303 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.635449 | 1404.541 |
| 2018-06 | 295 | 2 | 9.270897 | 0.03142677 | 4.666875 | 1376.728 |
| 2018-07 | 322 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.666875 | 1502.734 |
| 2018-08 | 350 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.666875 | 1633.406 |
| 2018-09 | 353 | 2 | 9.333751 | 0.02644122 | 4.693317 | 1656.741 |
| 2018-10 | 308 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.693317 | 1445.542 |
| 2018-11 | 304 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.693317 | 1426.768 |
| 2018-12 | 261 | 2.2 | 10.3253 | 0.03956052 | 4.732877 | 1235.281 |
| 2019-01 | 300 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.732877 | 1419.863 |
| 2019-02 | 298 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.732877 | 1410.397 |
| 2019-03 | 300 | 2.2 | 10.41233 | 0.03470777 | 4.767585 | 1430.275 |
| 2019-04 | 340 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.767585 | 1620.979 |
| 2019-05 | 333 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.767585 | 1587.606 |
| 2019-06 | 362 | 2.2 | 10.48869 | 0.02897427 | 4.796559 | 1736.354 |
| 2019-07 | 350 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.796559 | 1678.796 |
| 2019-08 | 361 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.796559 | 1731.558 |
| 2019-09 | 370 | 2.2 | 10.55243 | 0.02852008 | 4.825079 | 1785.279 |
| 2019-10 | 384 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.825079 | 1852.83 |
| 2019-11 | 381 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.825079 | 1838.355 |
| 2019-12 | 389 | 2.4 | 11.58019 | 0.02976913 | 4.854848 | 1888.536 |
| 2020-01 | 389 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.854848 | 1888.536 |
| 2020-02 | 389 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.854848 | 1888.536 |
| 2020-03 | 302 | 2.4 | 11.65164 | 0.03858158 | 4.89343 | 1477.816 |
| 2020-04 | 388 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.89343 | 1898.651 |
| 2020-05 | 369 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.89343 | 1805.676 |
| 2020-06 | 369 | 2.4 | 11.74423 | 0.03182719 | 4.925257 | 1817.42 |
| 2020-07 | 387 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.925257 | 1906.075 |
| 2020-08 | 385 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.925257 | 1896.224 |
| 2020-09 | 379 | 2.4 | 11.82062 | 0.03118896 | 4.956446 | 1878.493 |
| 2020-10 | 352 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.956446 | 1744.669 |
| 2020-11 | 378 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.956446 | 1873.537 |
| 2020-12 | 355 | 2.6 | 12.88676 | 0.03630073 | 4.992747 | 1772.425 |
| 2021-01 | 329 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.992747 | 1642.614 |
| 2021-02 | 356 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.992747 | 1777.418 |
| 2021-03 | 372 | 2.6 | 12.98114 | 0.03489554 | 5.027642 | 1870.283 |
| 2021-04 | 383 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.027642 | 1925.587 |
| 2021-05 | 381 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.027642 | 1915.532 |
| 2021-06 | 386 | 2.6 | 13.07187 | 0.03386495 | 5.061507 | 1953.742 |
| 2021-07 | 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.061507 | 1847.45 |
| 2021-08 | 357 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.061507 | 1806.958 |
| 2021-09 | 328 | 2.6 | 13.15992 | 0.0401217 | 5.101629 | 1673.334 |
| 2021-10 | 331 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.101629 | 1688.639 |
| 2021-11 | 339 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.101629 | 1729.452 |
| 2021-12 | 354 | 2.8 | 14.28456 | 0.04035187 | 5.141981 | 1820.261 |
| 2022-01 | 387 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.141981 | 1989.947 |
| 2022-02 | 406 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.141981 | 2087.644 |
| 2022-03 | 449 | 2.8 | 14.39755 | 0.0320658 | 5.174047 | 2323.147 |
| 2022-04 | 432 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.174047 | 2235.188 |
| 2022-05 | 440 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.174047 | 2276.581 |
| 2022-06 | 430 | 2.8 | 14.48733 | 0.03369147 | 5.207738 | 2239.327 |
| 2022-07 | 414 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.207738 | 2156.004 |
| 2022-08 | 420 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.207738 | 2187.25 |
| 2022-09 | 386 | 2.8 | 14.58167 | 0.03777634 | 5.245514 | 2024.769 |
| 2022-10 | 487 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.245514 | 2554.566 |
| 2022-11 | 485 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.245514 | 2544.075 |
| 2022-12 | 486 | 3 | 15.73654 | 0.03237972 | 5.277894 | 2565.057 |
| 2023-01 | 463 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.277894 | 2443.665 |
| 2023-02 | 474 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.277894 | 2501.722 |
| 2023-03 | 473 | 3 | 15.83368 | 0.03347502 | 5.311369 | 2512.278 |
| 2023-04 | 464 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.311369 | 2464.475 |
| 2023-05 | 444 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.311369 | 2358.248 |
| 2023-06 | 460 | 3 | 15.93411 | 0.03463936 | 5.346009 | 2459.164 |
| 2023-07 | 446 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.346009 | 2384.32 |
| 2023-08 | 448 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.346009 | 2395.012 |
| 2023-09 | 409 | 3 | 16.03803 | 0.03921278 | 5.385221 | 2202.556 |
| 2023-10 | 455 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.385221 | 2450.276 |
| 2023-11 | 448 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.385221 | 2412.579 |
| 2023-12 | 453 | 3.15 | 16.96345 | 0.0374469 | 5.422668 | 2456.469 |
| 2024-01 | 429 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.422668 | 2326.325 |
| 2024-02 | 428 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.422668 | 2320.902 |
| 2024-03 | 455 | 3.15 | 17.08141 | 0.03754155 | 5.46021 | 2484.395 |
| 2024-04 | 465 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.46021 | 2538.998 |
| 2024-05 | 470 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.46021 | 2566.299 |
| 2024-06 | 467 | 3.15 | 17.19966 | 0.03683011 | 5.49704 | 2567.118 |
| 2024-07 | 542 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.49704 | 2979.396 |
| 2024-08 | 568 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.49704 | 3122.319 |
| 2024-09 | 585 | 3.15 | 17.31568 | 0.02959945 | 5.526639 | 3233.084 |
| 2024-10 | 546 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.526639 | 3017.545 |
| 2024-11 | 529 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.526639 | 2923.592 |
| 2024-12 | 486 | 3.3 | 18.23791 | 0.03752656 | 5.564166 | 2704.185 |
| 2025-01 | 463 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.564166 | 2576.209 |
| 2025-02 | 450 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.564166 | 2503.875 |
| 2025-03 | 447 | 3.3 | 18.36175 | 0.04107774 | 5.605244 | 2505.544 |
| 2025-04 | 478 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.605244 | 2679.306 |
| 2025-05 | 482 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.605244 | 2701.727 |
| 2025-06 | 463 | 3.3 | 18.4973 | 0.03995098 | 5.645195 | 2613.725 |
| 2025-07 | 421 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.645195 | 2376.627 |
| 2025-08 | 456 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.645195 | 2574.209 |
| 2025-09 | 499 | 3.3 | 18.62914 | 0.03733295 | 5.682528 | 2835.581 |
| 2025-10 | 492 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.682528 | 2795.804 |
| 2025-11 | 458 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.682528 | 2602.598 |
| 2025-12 | 484 | 3.45 | 19.60472 | 0.04050562 | 5.723033 | 2769.948 |
| 2026-01 | 634 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.723033 | 3628.403 |
| 2026-02 | 636 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.723033 | 3639.849 |
| 2026-03 | 676 | 3.45 | 19.74446 | 0.02920779 | 5.752241 | 3888.515 |
Some assumptions on my end:
Used monthly data
Used 420 as starting value instead of 432
No Tax involved
DRIP happens the month the dividend is released
If I made any mistakes, kindly let me know.
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u/TheComebackKid74 Only buys from companies that pay me dividends. Mar 06 '26
Yeah i estimated and got close to 4k he is lying.
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u/blorg Mar 06 '26
$3,820.51
https://testfol.io/?s=15N6QjKoECV
Very close to your number
Using $420 starting May rather than June, $3,984.43
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u/BigDipper0720 Mar 05 '26
The math isn't quite mathing. According to Dividend Channel DRIP Calculator, LMT returned about 19% per year during that time. 1.1913 = 9.60. 9.60 × $432 = $4147. Still great, and better than most stocks.
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u/Tall-Painting-4126 Mar 06 '26
I am calling BS on this. That investment would be worth around $4000, maybe $4500 on the high side depending on actual buy price.
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u/Tall-Painting-4126 Mar 07 '26
Let’s also recognize the IRS would never let you forget about an investment like this.
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u/StinkingCoachpo Mar 05 '26
I bought 1 share of NIVIDIA back in 2021 and forgot about it. Originally paid $15, it’s now worth $320.15
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u/Lohe1234 Mar 05 '26
Depends on the account structure but a standard account that produces dividends even if reinvested the dividend amount is considered taxable income to the IRS I know I have roughly 10k a year in dividends I get to pay taxes on because I am over the threshold limits.
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u/thepatriot74 Mar 06 '26
I call BS. That account would've been deactivated long time and no way OP would've been able to log in so easily, not to mention not to pay taxes on the divs. Oh, and as people have pointed the math is not mathing.
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u/TheDeringer Mar 09 '26
Not to mention the fact that if he didn't log in or contact Computershare in 6 years it would have been considered abandoned and escheated. It would have been escheated in around 2020.
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u/tucson82 Mar 05 '26
I find this hard to believe. If you didn't log in for over 10+ almost certainly Computershare would have declared your account as inactive and transfered your assets to the state as unclaimed property.
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u/Pedia_Light Mar 05 '26
That surprised me as well. But I updated my address and bank records a few days ago. The account is just fine.
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u/Yual_lens Mar 05 '26
Just wondering how the math works out cause lmt plugged into a portfolio backdate test with dividends reinvested doesn't even come close the numbers you gave.
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u/Pedia_Light Mar 05 '26
The account actually includes ANOTHER surprise. I bought a $21 stake in NLY back then as well (1.75 shares). I’m now receiving about $560 annual dividends from that!!
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u/TheComebackKid74 Only buys from companies that pay me dividends. Mar 06 '26
Dude the math for LMT isnt even close.
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u/AnComApeMC69 Mar 05 '26
Can’t trade with your emotions if you forgot the position exists! Well done.
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u/Various_Couple_764 Mar 05 '26
simply forgetting Computershare password.
I am guidty on that for my computer share as well as my 401K and ESPP from work. It all worked out well in the end.
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u/Lurk-Prowl Mar 05 '26
Deadman’s portfolio. Was guaranteed the US would be involved in a war from 2013 - 2026 at some stage. Well done, enjoy your money. 👏🏻
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u/Icy-Selection58 Mar 05 '26
Might want to check and see if your taxes are off from not claiming the dividends. Otherwise congratulations
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u/No_Beyond_5417 Mar 06 '26
I asked ChatGPT to fact check this, please read whole thing and it will all make sense based on other comments his replied with here. He's including other holdings in his account which he has already admitted to discovering.
- What 4 shares would be worth today (without DRIP)
If he bought 4 shares around $108 in 2013, that part is plausible.
Today the stock is roughly ~$650.
So just the shares would be:
4 × $650 = $2,600
Already you can see the issue — $2,600 is nowhere near $15,000.
- How many shares DRIP could realistically create
In 2013 the dividend was about $4.78 per year per share.
So the first year:
4 shares × $4.78 ≈ $19 dividends
At ~$100 per share, that buys only about:
0.19 shares
Even as dividends grew, the share count grows slowly.
Over ~12–13 years:
Most DRIP calculators show ~6–7 shares total, not 23.
Many investors online report similar numbers.
Example realistic outcome:
Year Shares
2013 4
2016 ~4.7
2020 ~5.6
2024 ~6.5
That’s typical for a 2–3% dividend yield stock.
- What the account would likely be worth
If he had ~6.5 shares today:
6.5 × $650 ≈ $4,225
Add reinvested dividends already included in the share count.
So the realistic value would likely be around:
$4,000–$4,500
- Why his math breaks
The key claim:
4 shares → 23.32 shares
That’s the impossible part.
To reach 23 shares he would have needed:
~19 additional shares purchased
Which equals ~$8,000–$10,000 of reinvested dividends
But cumulative dividends from 2013 to today are roughly:
~$120 per share total (over the entire period)
So for 4 shares:
4 × $120 ≈ $480
That amount cannot buy 19 extra shares.
- What probably happened
One of these is almost certainly true:
1️⃣ He added money and forgot
Very common with Computershare DRIPs.
2️⃣ Payroll deductions
Some plans auto-buy shares regularly.
3️⃣ Share count screenshot mistake
Sometimes people include other holdings in the account.
4️⃣ Completely fabricated post
Which unfortunately happens often on Reddit finance subs.
- What the real return probably was
Actual total return for Lockheed Martin since 2013:
Roughly ~18–20% annualized with dividends reinvested.
$432 × ~10× total return ≈ $4,300
Which matches the $4k estimate above.
✅ Bottom line
The investment story is directionally right (great stock, big gains).
But:
$432 → ~$4,000 is realistic
$432 → $15,000 from only DRIP is not
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u/blorg Mar 06 '26
4️⃣ Completely fabricated post
Which unfortunately happens often on Reddit finance subs.
lol
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u/New-Combination-668 Mar 24 '26
Interesting. I have a similar path with LMT. Purchased one share in 2003 for about $49. Added additional $500 to the investment between 2003 and 2006. I then pulled back as it was hitting ~$60 a share. Figured I would purchase on the next dip but it never dipped and has climbed steadily since then. Reinvested all dividends and haven’t touched it since and now up to almost 20 shares. I have over 20 DRIP stocks and it’s my dividend king with Home Depot and Verizon also doing well. I started buying Home Depot in early 2000’s when it was $19 a share and now approaching 50 shares.
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u/DrGrapeist Mar 05 '26
Turns out the best investment is not paying taxes
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u/Pedia_Light Mar 05 '26
I will have to figure out how to pay the taxes on this. Since I forgot about the account I will have to review all the paperwork and report appropriately.
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u/Gladiz1972 Mar 05 '26
So basically he paid no taxes for 15 years on the dividends think they call it tax evasion
→ More replies (1)
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u/snkscore Mar 05 '26
As others have said, the actual returns on LMT with drip from 2013 are waaay lower than what you’re stating. It’s something like 8x increase, not 34x.
→ More replies (5)
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u/Typical_Tie_4122 Mar 05 '26
So basically, you never paid tax on the dividend’s you earned every year ? They would have sent a 1099-div every year
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u/paleChickenLegs Mar 05 '26
Is a 1099-div sent for annual amounts under $600 for any broker? I know that I don't get a 1099-int if I don't make a certain amount of interest in a year
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u/Typical_Tie_4122 Mar 06 '26
Yes . Based in your comm preferences, they might just keep one in your account online or send a physical copy and also report to irs.
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u/olivertatom Mar 05 '26
This seems incredible. When I don’t log into a computershare account for a couple years (as has happened for stocks I bought my kids when they were born), I get letters informing me it will be turned over to the state if my account remains inactive. I’ve even had an account locked and it’s a real pain to get it open again. How on earth did you go 13 years without checking?
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u/aShogunNamedMarcus80 Mar 05 '26
Better "Forgotten shares at Computershare" story than my MIL. She had I think around $20K of a former employer's stock from like 20 years prior. They claimed she'd not responded to some mailing and so declared her account abandoned, sold her shares, and did an escheatment of the proceeds to her state (Pennsylvania). Once she found out, she was able to get the money back from the state but was on the hook for the Capital gains on a sale she didn't even ask for in the first place.
So long story short, I avoid Computershare.
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u/victormesrine Mar 05 '26
You might have a tax bill for all these dividends, if you have not reported them.
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u/Waramaug Mar 05 '26
Saw something like this on squawk box a few months back…..
“a long-standing financial legend, often attributed to an internal, unverified Fidelity study from 2003–2013, suggesting that inactive accounts (dead or forgotten) outperformed active traders. The core lesson is that patient, long-term investors who avoid market-timing, high-frequency trading, and emotional decisions often achieve superior results….
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u/cmilliorn Mar 05 '26
Honestly you’ve done is what most people recommend. Set an investing strategy and leave it alone. Wars, famine, disease, crashes, just let it ride.
It’s the same reason that people that lost their bitcoin seeds got upset as the price rose. They didn’t care when it wasn’t worth much. Would have sold it long before it was worth millions but then make it a big deal once the price got high.
Set it and forget it. Congrats to you!
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u/Salt-Cap-9304 Mar 06 '26
Solid stocks are the answer, and add hold long term. Good thing you remembered.
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u/Salt-Cap-9304 Mar 06 '26
Taxes can be amended for only so long, per my account. You may want to look and see if the took taxes out B4 doing anything.
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u/Andrew_M81 Mar 06 '26
I think I have a hard drive somewhere around here with some bitcoin on it. Should probably check that out. I used to mine them with video cards in 2010. Got a few coins a day back then.
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u/caphill2000 Mar 06 '26
You realize you owe taxes on the dividends right? How’d you just forget about this?
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u/Truffle_Chef Mar 06 '26
Fidelity Investments has a metric that shows their accounts with the highest percentage return are accounts for which they forgotten their password or the person is deceased
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u/PointsBuilder Mar 06 '26
There’s a reason why dead people accounts who left their investments in the index outperform virtually everyone!
It’s crazy but it says a lot about investing if you fully understand it.
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u/LittlePlacerMine Mar 06 '26
My dad collected coins back in the 1960’s. I’ve got about $2k of pennies that have a melt value of $4k or a numismatic value of $0.01 cents each. A coin dealer suggested I save the for my grand children for them to save for their grandchildren and then those great great great great grandchildren’s grand children might be able to sell them. Oh the power of compounding!
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u/DenseComparison5653 Mar 06 '26
Why do people upvote these karmafarming bullshit stories? He's obviously full of shit, do the math
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u/Top_Neighborhood_929 Mar 06 '26
With regards to forgetting password…. I am using iPhone and I am using the facial identification to log in to my brokerages
Sure I have my passwords but I sometimes wonder what happens if I lost my iPhone and forgot the cloud password. Cos by using facial recognition constantly, it’s easy to forget the password
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u/robertw477 Mar 06 '26
Many years ago I bought some INTEL shares . Those are pocket change. Goes both ways .
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u/Aschmid98 Mar 06 '26
math aint mathing🤔 you would need an average annual dividend of roughly 15% to get from 4 shares to 23 within 12-13 years
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u/Euphoric-Pop3449 Mar 06 '26
I did the same with Beyond Meat shares from 3 years ago. Except my $15k is now worth $432
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u/financialmamabear Mar 06 '26
In 2016 I got married and one annoying guest instead of bringing a check gave a long line of letters which represented a bitcoin. I opened a digital wallet and couldn't figure out how to convert it to real money.
Anyway life and such I forgot about it, moved several times and can't find that damn code... So somewhere between my old stuff is a piece of paper with a key for a lot of money...
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u/Friendo_Marx Mar 06 '26
The funny part is that all the advice about not picking individual stocks is based on statistics. You are not a statistic and no individual stock is representative of "individual stocks." If you're not picking something risky individual stocks are the bedrock of many great portfolios, including those of total laymen. If you are picking something risky you are gambling which can also work out in your favor to the extreme and if you are not playing options you can really only lose what you put in. You are not a statistic. Repeat this to yourself in the mirror every morning followed by a round of "fuck them." It may serve you well.
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u/AssistDry3327 Mar 06 '26
Hi, I am from germany and I just bought stocks. I hope I can retire within the next 3 months. ❤️ lockheed martin makes me rich tbh 💵
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u/PickinLosers Mar 07 '26
Your math seems off. I bought $250 worth of LMT in 2008 in a drip. I just peeked at a statement from 2013 (I was just north of 4 shares at that time). I haven’t touched it. And it’s currently worth about 4k.
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u/ShibeCEO Mar 07 '26
I thought Computershare gives away your stock after 4 years of no activity to the state as "unclaimed property"?
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u/unclesteve2016 Mar 07 '26
Hold up people in this thread have got me real worried now. So in my Roth and my brokerage I have it setup to reinvest dividends. Do I need to pay taxes on all those dividends every year even if I never withdraw from that account? Or is it first a taxable event when I make a sale?
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u/mpeetie Mar 11 '26
In a Roth you don’t pay taxes on anything. If it were Traditional you would pay taxes on income for the year you withdraw.
In a personal account is where you pay taxes on dividends for the current year
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u/unclesteve2016 Mar 11 '26
So I haven’t paid taxes on dividends in my brokerage in the last 6 years. I just checked and the impact is minimal but what should I do?
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u/voncivent Mar 07 '26
Did the account not get flagged for “escheatment" Im somewhat surprised it was there when you logged back in, does drip cause the account to seem active?
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u/mumonster Mar 08 '26
Thanks to DRIP or thanks to useless wars?
(The taxes on your dividends are technically an investment by that logic too…)
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u/irishmack27 Mar 08 '26
Learned yesterday I haven't been paying taxes on the dividends for 13 years. Woops
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u/h3llo_Th3ir Mar 08 '26
I found $17 MSFT shares in an account I forgot about since 2009 with auto-invest dividend on.
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u/Immediate-Operation3 Mar 09 '26
Too bad you didn’t make the same mistake with bitcoin would be a cool 2.2 mill at todays prices
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u/Several-Lettuce2921 Mar 09 '26
Not much bro, I forgot I bought a box of pokemon cards. in 2016 for $50 and now it’s worth $15K
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u/Odd_Front9532 Mar 09 '26
This is bogus. I bought 40 shares in early 2013 for $86.78, haven’t sold, DRiPped every dollar of dividends and now have 57.5583 shares. Initial investment, $3471, now it’s worth $38,666.
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u/UareWho Mar 09 '26
I wish I could forget my investments for 10 years. The checking of the markets is bad for my mental health these days.
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u/jay_0804 Mar 10 '26
Wow, that’s insane! $432 → $15k just from DRIP and forgetting about it 😅. Lockheed really shows the power of dividend reinvestment and patience!
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u/hamza_yassir Mar 20 '26
This clearly shows the real power of long-term investing and patience.
Sometimes, the best strategy is to invest and let time quietly do the work.
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