Mazor'sEdge

Warren Buffett has long championed simple, long-term investing strategies—and one of the simplest, in his view, is benefiting from share buybacks.

At the 2022 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, Buffett explained how Berkshire’s stake in American Express grew dramatically over time without the company purchasing more shares. “We owned 150 million shares… and we then owned 11.2% of the American Express Company,” Buffett said. “And now we own 20%.” The reason? American Express has steadily repurchased its own shares, effectively increasing Berkshire’s ownership percentage—without Berkshire spending another dollar.

Buffett likened it to owning a farm that magically expands over time: “Imagine if you had 640 acres and, twenty years later, it had turned into 1,100 or 1,200 acres—without buying more land. That’s essentially what happens when a company buys back its own shares wisely.”

For investors, this means enjoying an ever-larger piece of a growing business, tax-free, and with no effort. Buffett calls it “the easiest investing there is.” His message: when done at the right price, share repurchases are one of the most powerful, yet misunderstood, tools for wealth creation.

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

See the complete Lessons From Warren Buffett series

© 2025 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.

If there’s one piece of advice Warren Buffett consistently shares for those who want to become better investors, it’s this: read constantly.

At the 2005 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, Buffett reflected on how reading shaped his early investing journey. “I just read a lot,” he said. “I probably took every book in the Omaha Public Library, every book they had on investing or the stock market, basically.”

That passion for reading started young. By age 11, he had read enough to feel ready to buy his first stock. When his father was elected to Congress, Buffett gained access to even more books through the libraries in Washington, D.C.—and he took full advantage.

He dived into charts, studied market history, and explored every investing resource he could find. The turning point came at age 19 when he discovered The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham while attending the University of Nebraska. “That just changed my whole framework,” Buffett said.

His enduring advice for anyone looking to improve their investment knowledge? “Read everything in sight.”

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

See the complete Lessons From Warren Buffett series

© 2025 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.

At the 2006 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, Warren Buffett emphasized a core principle of successful investing: independent thinking grounded in solid facts and reasoning.

Quoting his mentor Ben Graham, Buffett reminded investors that being right isn’t about consensus—it’s about accuracy. “You’re neither right nor wrong because people agree with you or disagree with you,” he said. “You’re right because your facts and reasoning are right.”

Buffett stressed the importance of focusing only on what is both important and knowable. Investors should avoid being distracted by speculation or public opinion and instead concentrate on verifiable facts and what those facts truly mean. He warned against wasting energy on unknowable variables—no matter how important they might seem—or knowable facts that don’t actually matter.

Ultimately, Buffett’s message is clear: investing is not about following the crowd. It’s about finding valuable opportunities through disciplined, independent analysis—regardless of what others think.

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

See the complete Lessons From Warren Buffett series

© 2025 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.

Will the stock market go up or down? Flip on the television, open a newspaper, or browse the internet, and you’ll find no shortage of confident predictions. Some say a crash is imminent; others foresee a roaring bull market. It’s tempting to weigh the arguments, form an opinion, and adjust your investments accordingly. Warren Buffett advises against it.

“Charlie and I never have an opinion about the market because it wouldn’t be any good and it might interfere with the opinions we have that are good,” Buffett said at the 1994 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.

His reasoning is simple: The future of the market is unknowable, but the value of a great business is not. A sound company with strong earnings, a durable competitive advantage, and competent management will perform well over time—regardless of market swings. To hold off on a promising investment just because of macroeconomic uncertainty is, in Buffett’s view, sheer folly.

“If we’re right about a business… it would be very foolish for us not to take action because we thought something about what the market was going to do,” he explained. “Because we just don’t know.”

The lesson is clear: Don’t let noise drown out knowledge. Market movements are unpredictable, but great businesses endure. The wise investor ignores the forecasts and focuses on what can actually be known.

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

See the complete Lessons From Warren Buffett series

© 2025 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.