It would have taken some steely nerves to invest $10,000 in Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) shares five years ago.

But investors who were able to see through the medium-term pain the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) airline stock was facing amid the pandemic-driven global and domestic border closures at that time will have been amply rewarded by today.

And that's despite Qantas shares having lost 17.35% since hitting all-time highs of $10.20 on 4 March this year.

When quality ASX 200 stocks take a beating for reasons largely outside of their control, as we saw with COVID-19 and have been witnessing these past few weeks amid the Trump tariff drama, it's worth recalling some top investment advice from Warren Buffett.

Namely, "Be greedy when others are fearful."

So, if you channelled your inner Buffett and bought $10,000 of Qantas shares five years ago, just how much would you have today?

Let's find out!

How have Qantas shares fared over five years?

On 3 April 2020, the ASX 200 was in its early rebound stages after hitting rock bottom on 27 March.

On 3 April 2020, you could have picked up Qantas shares for $3.05 apiece.

Meaning your $10,000 investment would have gotten you 3,278 shares (excluding any potential brokerage fees).

On Friday, Qantas closed the day trading for $8.43 a share. That equates to a gain of 176.4%.

And it would have seen your $10,000 investment from five years ago turn into $27,633.54 today.

But that's not all!

Don't forget the Qantas dividend

Amid the pandemic chaos, Qantas suspended its dividend payouts in 2020. And for the next few years, the company worked on returning to profitability before launching some sizeable share buybacks in 2022.

But with H1 FY 2025 profits surging, Qantas reinstated its interim dividend when the airline reported its half-year results on 27 February. Qantas shares closed up 5.6% on the day.

For the six-month period, the company reported a 9% year-on-year increase in revenue to $12.13 billion. The airline's net profit was up 6% to $923 million.

As for that passive income, the combined ordinary and special dividend work out to (a rounded) 26 cents per Qantas share, fully franked.

So, if we add that back into Friday's closing price of $8.43 a share, then the accumulated value of the 3,278 Qantas shares you bought for $3.05 apiece five years ago would now be worth $8.69 each.

And this would have turned your $10,000 investment into $28,485.82 today.