Tag: Value Investing

Warren Buffett has emphasized that stock prices often diverge from a company’s true value during periods of heavy speculation, but ultimately align with fundamentals over time.

Speaking at Berkshire Hathaway’s 2000 annual meeting, Buffett cited his mentor Benjamin Graham’s observation from The Intelligent Investor: “In the short run it’s a voting machine, and in the long run it’s a weighing machine.”

Buffett added, “Sooner or later, the amount of cash that a business can disgorge in the future governs the value it has… But it can take a long time.”

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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.

Warren Buffett has long cautioned investors about the dangers of leverage, the practice of using borrowed money to boost returns. While it may seem attractive, he warns it can quickly destroy even the most successful investors when markets shift.

“Whenever a bright person, a really bright person, goes broke that has a lot of money, it’s because of leverage,” Buffett told shareholders at Berkshire Hathaway’s 1999 annual meeting. “It would be almost impossible to go broke without borrowed money being in the equation.”

For Buffett, the lesson is clear: long-term success in investing comes from patience and discipline, not debt-fueled risk.

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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.

Warren Buffett says investors should focus less on rigid formulas like price-to-earnings ratios and more on where a company is headed. Speaking at Berkshire Hathaway’s 1995 annual meeting, Buffett drew on advice from hockey great Wayne Gretzky: “Go where the puck is going to be, not where it is.”

“It’s the future that counts,” Buffett emphasized, “It isn’t a multiple of today’s earnings that are primarily determinative of things.” He underscored that long-term success in investing comes from anticipating future performance rather than relying solely on current metrics.

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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.

Many investors search for a clear-cut formula to guide their decisions—something that can signal exactly when to buy. But according to Warren Buffett, successful investing isn’t that mechanical.

“People always want a formula,” Buffett said at the 2002 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “They go to The Intelligent Investor and they think, you know, somewhere they’re going to give me a little formula and then I can plug this in and I know I’ll make lots of money. And it really doesn’t work that way.”

Instead, Buffett emphasizes a deeper, more thoughtful approach: estimate the total cash a business will generate over its lifetime, discount it appropriately, and only invest when the price is well below that value. “I wouldn’t want to have a single yardstick, or a…relative P/E that I went by,” he added.

The lesson? Real investing success requires judgment, patience, and a willingness to think beyond shortcuts.

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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.

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.

When people begin exploring the world of investing, it’s common to ask: Should I put my money in stocks, real estate, commodities, or currencies? For Warren Buffett, the answer is surprisingly personal—he believes the best investment you can make is in yourself.

“I think that the best investment you can have, for most people, is in your own abilities,” Buffett said at the 2005 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.

To underscore the value of personal potential, Buffett offered a striking analogy: “I would be glad to pay [a student] one hundred thousand dollars, cash up front, for ten percent of all their future earnings… I’m valuing the whole person at a million dollars.”

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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.

While strong leadership is valuable, Warren Buffett believes that the true cornerstone of a great investment is a business with a powerful competitive moat.

“If you have a big enough moat, you don’t need as much management,” Buffett said at the 1999 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, echoing a core principle of his investment philosophy.

He referenced investor Peter Lynch’s famous line about preferring companies so resilient that “an idiot can run it, because sooner or later one will.” The point, Buffett explained, is that truly great businesses are those protected by enduring advantages—moats that safeguard profitability regardless of who’s at the helm.

Such businesses are rare, Buffett admits, but when found, they offer investors the kind of long-term security that even top-tier management alone can’t guarantee.

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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.

Conventional wisdom suggests investors should aim to buy low and sell high—ideally at a stock’s peak. But Warren Buffett takes a different view.

At the 1998 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, Buffett explained that he’s unbothered when stocks he’s sold go on to climb higher. In fact, he sees it as a positive sign.

“I would worry, frankly, if I sold a bunch of things right at the top,” he said. “That would indicate that I was practicing the bigger fool-type approach to investing, and I don’t think that can be practiced successfully over time.”

Instead, Buffett believes selling a stock that later rises even more is often a sign that you’ve invested in strong businesses—exactly what a long-term investor should aim to do.

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© 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.

In the world of investing, it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of hot sectors or trendy companies. But Warren Buffett reminds investors to stay focused on fundamentals: it’s not about where the money comes from—it’s about how much of it a business can generate over time.

“Whether the money comes from a bank, whether it comes from an internet company, or whether it comes from a brick company, the money all spends the same,” Buffett said at the 2002 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. What matters, he emphasized, are the economic characteristics that determine how much long-term cash a business can produce.

In other words, don’t chase trends. Focus on businesses with strong fundamentals and predictable cash flows—regardless of how fashionable they seem.

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© 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.

“Where Are Markets Headed? Six Pros Take Their Best Guess,” read a headline in The Wall Street Journal—a familiar question in the world of investing. From financial news shows to market commentaries, speculation about whether stocks are peaking or bottoming is constant. But Warren Buffett has long warned against trying to time the market.

“I know of no one that has been successful at, and really made a lot of money, predicting the actions of the market itself,” Buffett said at the 1999 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. “I know a lot of people who have done well picking businesses and buying them at sensible prices.”

Buffett’s message is clear: real investment success comes not from guessing market moves, but from identifying strong businesses and buying them at good value. While market predictions may grab headlines, long-term discipline and business-focused investing remain the timeless strategy.

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

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© 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.