Peter Lynch Quotes

Know what you own, and know why you own it

A person who owns property and has a stake in the enterprise is likely to work harder and feel happier and do a better job than a person who doesn

Ultimately it is not the stock market nor even the companies themselves that determine an investor's fate. It is the investor.

Investing without research is like playing stud poker and never looking at the cards. For some reason the whole business

To all the dozens of lessons we’re supposed to have learned from October, I can add three: (1) don’t let nuisances ruin a good portfolio; (2) don’t let nuisances ruin a good vacation; and (3) never travel abroad when you’re light on cash.

People who succeed in the stock market also accept periodic losses, setbacks, and unexpected occurrences. Calamitous drops do not scare them out of the game.

company and for similar companies in the same industry. • The percentage of institutional ownership. The lower the better. • Whether insiders are buying and whether the company itself is buying back its own shares. Both are positive signs. • The record of earnings growth to date and whether the earnings are sporadic or consistent. (The only category where earnings may not be important is in the asset play.) • Whether the company has a strong balance sheet or a weak balance sheet (debt-to-equity ratio) and how it’s rated for financial strength. • The cash position. With $16 in net cash, I know Ford is unlikely to drop below $16 a share. That’s the floor on the stock. SLOW GROWERS • Since you buy these for the dividends (why else would

The best way to handle a situation in which you love the company but not the current price is to make a small commitment and then increase it in the next sell-off.

When somebody says, "Any idiot could run this joint," that's a plus as far as I'm concerned, because sooner or later any idiot probably is going to be running it.

Stocks you trade, it's wives you're stuck with.

Corporate profits are up fifty-five-fold since World War II, and the stock market is up sixtyfold. Four wars, nine recessions, eight presidents, and one impeachment didn’t change that.

My diaries are full of such missed opportunities, but the stock market is merciful — it always gives the nincompoop a second chance.

Debt is saving in reverse. The more it builds up, the worse off you are.

This taught me not only that it’s difficult to predict markets, but also that small investors tend to be pessimistic and optimistic at precisely the wrong times, so it’s self-defeating to try to invest in good markets and get out of bad ones.

"The old Wall Street adage "never invest in anything that eats or needs repairs" may apply to racehorses, but it's malarkey when it comes to houses."