So, if they or you bought Cisco at $80 a share in 2000 and they/you still hold those shares at todays price of $26 a share, are you saying that you/they haven’t lost money?
Only if you sell it. If you planned to hold it anyway, it’s just on paper. But in the meantime it’s still paying you dividends. You still own an asset that’s putting money into your pocket, which is the only real definition of an asset anyway. As for stocks that don’t pay dividends, to me that’s gambling, not investing.