Warren Buffett quotes - page 2

What the wise do in the beginning, fools do in the end. (Warren Buffett)
A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought. View quote
Warren Buffett
Knowing what to leave out is just as important as knowing what to focus on. View quote
Warren Buffett
Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked. View quote
Warren Buffett
Long ago, Ben Graham taught me that "Price is what you pay; value is what you get.” Whether we're talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down. View quote
Warren Buffett
I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that any time there's a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election. View quote
Warren Buffett
Diversification is protection against ignorance. It makes little sense if you know what you are doing. View quote
Warren Buffett
Take the job that you would take if you were independently wealthy. View quote
Warren Buffett
For example: (1) As if governed by Newton's First Law of Motion, an institution will resist any change in its current direction; (2) Just as work expands to fill available time, corporate projects or acquisitions will materialize to soak up available funds; (3) Any business craving of the leader, however foolish, will be quickly supported by detailed rate-of-return and strategic studies prepared by his troops; and (4) The behavior of peer companies, whether they are expanding, acquiring, setting executive compensation or whatever, will be mindlessly imitated. View quote
Warren Buffett
We've long felt that the only value of stock forecasters is to make fortune tellers look good. Even now, Charlie and I continue to believe that short-term market forecasts are poison and should be kept locked up in a safe place, away from children and also from grown-ups who behave in the market like children. View quote
Warren Buffett
I'll tell you why I like the cigarette business. ... It costs a penny to make. Sell it for a dollar. It's addictive. And there's fantastic brand loyalty. (Warren Buffett)
You're dealing with a lot of silly people in the marketplace; it's like a great big casino and everyone else is boozing. If you can stick with Pepsi, you should be O.K. View quote
Warren Buffett
I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over. View quote
Warren Buffett
Never count on making a good sale. Have the purchase price be so attractive that even a mediocre sale gives good results. View quote
Warren Buffett
Games are won by players who focus on the playing field –- not by those whose eyes are glued to the scoreboard. View quote
Warren Buffett
You know... you keep doing the same things and you keep getting the same result over and over again. View quote
Warren Buffett
It's simply to say that managers and investors alike must understand that accounting numbers is the beginning, not the end, of business valuation. View quote
Warren Buffett
Our stay-put behavior reflects our view that the stock market serves as a relocation center at which money is moved from the active to the patient. View quote
Warren Buffett
The most common cause of low prices is pessimism - some times pervasive, some times specific to a company or industry. We want to do business in such an environment, not because we like pessimism but because we like the prices it produces. It's optimism that is the enemy of the rational buyer. View quote
Warren Buffett
Long ago, Sir Isaac Newton gave us three laws of motion, which were the work of genius. But Sir Isaac's talents didn't extend to investing: He lost a bundle in the South Sea Bubble, explaining later, "I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men." If he had not been traumatized by this loss, Sir Isaac might well have gone on to discover the Fourth Law of Motion: For investors as a whole, returns decrease as motion increases. View quote
Warren Buffett
Investors should remember that excitement and expenses are their enemies. And if they insist on trying to time their participation in equities, they should try to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful. (Warren Buffett)
We will reject interesting opportunities rather than over-leverage our balance sheet. View quote
Warren Buffett
I try to buy stock in businesses that are so wonderful that an idiot can run them. Because sooner or later, one will. View quote
Warren Buffett
Investors making purchases in an overheated market need to recognize that it may often take an extended period for the value of even an outstanding company to catch up with the price they paid. View quote
Warren Buffett
Intrinsic value can be defined simply: It is the discounted value of the cash that can be taken out of a business during its remaining life. The calculation of intrinsic value, though, is not so simple. As our definition suggests, intrinsic value is an estimate rather than a precise figure, and it is additionally an estimate that must be changed if interest rates move or forecasts of future cash flows are revised. View quote
Warren Buffett