A price chart understates the return of any dividend-paying stock, because the price mechanically drops on each ex-dividend-date by roughly the payment. Over decades that omission is large. Index quotes shown in the media are usually price return, while the fund tracking that index delivers total return.
When comparing strategies, make sure both sides are measured the same way, and note that a total return index assumes reinvestment at the close with no tax and no commission.
Example: a stock rises from $100 to $140 over five years while paying $3 a year. Price return is 40%. With dividends reinvested at an average $120, the total return is roughly 55%, so the price chart hid more than a quarter of the gain.
Related: dividend, ex-dividend-price-adjustment, drip, dividend-yield, index-fund