Warren Buffett has long been known for steering clear of Wall Street trends, and one metric he’s never relied on is beta—a measure of a stock’s historical volatility. Speaking at the 1998 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, Buffett made his position clear: “We don’t pay any attention to beta or any of that sort of thing. It just doesn’t mean anything to us.”
Instead, Buffett emphasized a focus on intrinsic value and price, saying, “We’re only interested in price and value. And that’s what we’re focusing on all the time. Any kind of market movements or anything don’t mean anything.”
Buffett’s remarks highlight a core principle of his investment philosophy: long-term value outweighs short-term volatility.
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© 2026 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.