Price is what you pay, but value is what you get

١٠ نوفمبر ٢٠٢٢

Warren Buffett is the most successful stock investor in the history of the world. Of course, which we know now. "The Oracle of Omaha" - that's what fans of his "magical instinct" call Buffett. But is that the point?

As an 11-year-old child, little Warren was inspired by the possibilities of the stock market and invited his sister to participate in his first investment. These were preferred shares of Cities Service. The sister agreed to take the risk and Warren bought 3 shares at $38.25. But then, the wave of enthusiasm turned to disappointment and guilt - the shares fell to $27. Buffett's first investment "enterprise" lost 29% of the amount of investments that were borrowed. We can only imagine how the young investor felt at that moment, but I think this feeling is familiar to many: positive expectations clashed with the harsh reality of the stock market. Warren didn't sell shares. But when the price for them reached $40, he did it instantly. Apparently, considering this whole undertaking a mistake. The income was 4.6%, the sister received her money back. Everything worked out. Surprisingly, Cities Service's share price rose to $202 a few days later. Or +428%, Warren!

The entire subsequent history of Warren Buffett confirms that he drew the right conclusions from the experience of his childhood. He realized that the price on the stock exchange may not reflect the value of the company itself. Buffett began to study accounting, the principles of fundamental analysis of enterprises, the ideas of Benjamin Graham. This allowed him to develop an approach that consisted in determining the real value of the company, different from the one that we see on the stock exchange.

"Price is what you pay, but value is what you get".

From myself I will add: and if the value is higher than the price - such an investment is considered reasonable.

In the chart above, the price history of Buffett's main holding company, Berkshire Hathaway. As well as the S&P500 index. As you can see, his company "overtakes" the index, which means it shows much better performance than the average value of 500 US companies.

Perhaps, in addition to deep analysis of the companies' business, Buffett's unique investor instinct helps, I don't know. But the fact that he is a real Wizard of our time is an indisputable fact for me.