[DiamondDave]

Growth is only one component of value.

The company's stock market value is $33.4 billion. It returns $2.6 billion per year to shareholders via stock repurchases and dividends. That's a 7.8% rate of return right there.

When you consider that the value of assets in place will increase at the rate of inflation and that unit volume will increase (slowly) over time, it looks like a (nominal) rate of return of 11-12% over the long haul is pretty much a slam dunk.

And it's not as if shareholders need to bear a lot of risk to earn that return. Market share leadership, brand name recognition, partnerships with key equity investees, the best distribution network in the biz, shareholder-oriented management that displays skill and restraint in deploying capital, etc etc.