Name: Insights: Warren Buffett on When to Sell Stocks
Uploaded: 2020-02-07
Duration: 2 min 22 s
Description: The legendary investor spoke with FORTUNE October 2014.

[MUSIC PLAYING] I love it one of the things we buy go down. That-- I just-- I get euphoric. Stocks are down today, and I buy more of something I was buying yesterday. I'm buying it cheaper. Now, when you go to the grocery store and you buy something cheaper than you bought the day before, you think that's terrific. But people with their stocks, they think that the stock knows more than they do, so that when the stock goes down, they say the stock is telling them something. And what it's telling me is, I can get more for my money. But they take it as a referendum on themselves. It's me versus the stock. If ever gets back to what I paid, I'm going to sell it. Stock doesn't care what you paid. You have to remember, the stock doesn't even care that you own it. You are nothing to the stock. That stock is everything to you. And you remember you paid $10.13, and therefore the stock should get to $10.13 before you sell it. Yeah. The stock has no feelings about you. I hate to disillusion you on this, but it just doesn't care. And so the only question with every stock every day-- and you don't do it this frequently-- is, can I get more for my money someplace else? You've got a chance to be in thousands and thousands of great businesses, and their prices change over time. So their relative valuations change. And you can make the exchange at very low cost these days-- commissions or nothing-- so you can always shift from one business to another. You have a huge advantage over Andrew Carnegie. When he was in the steel business, he was in the steel business, or Rockefeller was in the oil business. He could not shift over immediately to retailing or something like that. You can rearrange your business empire-- which you own through that little portfolio that you have. You can rearrange that at a moment's notice with practically no cost. It's a huge advantage which people turn into a disadvantage. There is nothing about the price action of the stock that tells you whether you should keep owning. What tells you whether you should keep owning it is what you expect the company to do in the future versus the price it which is selling now, compared to the other opportunities of businesses that you think you know equally well, and make that same comparison. And that's all there is to owning stocks. [MUSIC PLAYING]

Insights: Warren Buffett on When to Sell Stocks

Uncategorized

The legendary investor spoke with FORTUNE October 2014.

Warren Buffett on When to Sell Stocks

I love it when the things we buy go down. I mean that. I mean, I just get you for IQ. You know, that stocks were down today and I'm buying more of something I was buying yesterday, buying a cheaper. Now, when you go to the grocery store and you buy something cheaper than you bought it the day before, you think that's terrific. But people with their stocks, they think that the stock knows more than they do, so they When the stock goes down, they say the stock is telling him something. And it was telling me as I could get more for my money, but But they they take it. It's kind of a referendum on themselves, you know? Me. Versus stock has ever gets back to what I paid. I'm gonna sell it stocked up here. What you paid, you have to remember, doesn't care that you own it. You are nothing to the stock. That stock is everything to you. And you remember you paid $10.13 said, therefore the stock should get 10 13 before you sell it. Yeah. The stock has no feelings about you. I don't know. It just doesn't here. And so the only question with every stock every day and you don't do it this frequently is Can I get more for my money someplace else? You've got a chance to be in thousands and thousands of great businesses, and their prices change all the time so that roams. Evaluations change and you can make the exchange of very low cost these days commissions or nothing at, so you can always shift from one business other. You have a huge advantage over Andrew Carnegie, you know, when he was in the steel business, he was in the steel business or rocket rose in the oil business. He could not shift over immediately to retailing or something like you. You can rearrange your business empire, which you owns without more portfolio that you have. You can rearrange that at a moment's notice with practically no cost. It's a huge advantage, which people turned into a disadvantage. There is nothing about the price action of the stock that tells you whether you should, he boning. What tells you whether you should keep owning it is what you expect the company to do in the future versus the prices, which is selling now compared to the other opportunities of businesses that you think you know equally well and make that same comparison, and that's all there is owning stocks.