Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits
by Philip A. Fisher · first published 2000
92% recommend8% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Explains how to evaluate companies through qualitative research, such as the scuttlebutt method of talking to customers and competitors; suited to investors wanting a fundamentals-focused approach beyond price metrics.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…Painters's chapter 6 - " 3. "The Way to Wealth by Benjamin Franklin" Investing books in this order 1. Peter Lynch's One Up on wall street 2. The Intelligent Investor (Ben Graham) 3. Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits 4. Security Analysis (Ben Graham) 5. The Warren Buffet Way is a famous business read not exceptional but read it if you have some time left 6. A Random Walk Down Wall Street (Read it for a…
on “Ask HN: Best books/source to learn about investing?” ↗* Steve Jobs biography. I couldn't put it down and I'm shocked there aren't more fans on HN For those who liked Malkiel's Random Walk, read: * Ben Graham's Intelligent Investor * Philip Fisher's Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits They counter Malkiel's thesis (yup, he's wrong) and Warren Buffet credits both men for teaching him how to invest. True classics.
on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011” ↗…point new investors to: - Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist, by Roger Lowenstein. - Margin of Safety, by Seth Klarman - The Little Book That Still Beats the Market, by Joel Greenblatt - Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, by Philip Fisher - Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street, by John Brooks - This article from 1984 by Warren Buffett: https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/articles/columbia-business/sup...…
on “Coinbase valued above $100B, ahead of direct listing” ↗I've read The Intelligent Investor and The Theory of Investment Value and Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits. All three were quite good. To summarize the first two (very roughly): The market isn't perfect and there are a lot of undervalued companies that are great. You have to find these companies at a significant…
on “Ask HN: Best books/source to learn about investing?” ↗Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits by Philip A. Fisher is the best book I've read about the process of getting to intimately know one specific company. It was written long before the phrase "focus investing" was coined. Warren Buffett…
on “Fake Amazon Tech Book Reviews Are Hurting My Book” ↗…recommended, I'm sure there are tons of other books, these are just the ones that have stuck with me. Investing: 1) The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham 2) Security Analysis - Benjamin Graham 3) Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits - Philip Fisher 4) The Little Book of Common Sense Investing - John Bogle 5) The Most Important Thing - Howard Marks Economics: 1) An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations - Adam…
on “Buffett FAQ” ↗Random Walk and Intelligent Investor as already mentioned are great books. I'd put Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits (Philip Fisher) near the top of my list and I enjoy the Value Investor podcast (John Mihaljevic). If your interest is more the short-term movements, and less investing based on price and intrinsic value,…
on “Ask HN: How did you learn about stocks and the market?” ↗…recommendations, which follow more fundamental investing, some people have already mentioned: One Up on Wall Street, 2nd ed. Lynch, Peter - explains what i think is a good way of looking at the stock market Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits by Philip A. Fisher - shows importance of having investment philosophy Ahead of the Market: The Zacks Method for Spotting Stocks Early - by Mitch Zacks - shows the importance of quarterly earnings The…
on “Ask HN: Introductory Books on the Stock Market?” ↗…Safety, by Seth Klarman. This book is excellent, however it has been out of print for some time. You may be able to find a copy of it somewhere though (there have often been PDFs of it floating around). Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, by Philip Fisher. Peter Lynch has a few worthwhile books as well. Some of this will seem out of date, it's not. The lessons are eternal. A lot of people will jump to recommending The Intelligent Investor…
on “Ask HN: What are your instruments for investment?” ↗…withstood numerous market cycles. Even if you decide to branch out, these are a good base to start from. 1. “Random Walk Down Wall Street” to understand index funds and why they generally outperform. 2. “Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits” for a general understanding of how to choose stocks (and companies) for the long-term 3. “The Intelligent Investor” for understanding the some of the human challenges of investing. If you’re short…
on “Ask HN: How to start learning about investments?” ↗…surprised when a juicy one comes your way. As for reading, someone else gave some good recs, and you're already reading Graham, so if you've decided "value investing" is for you, I would recommend - Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits - Fisher. The "scuttlebutt" method for finding good companies. This is good advice in general for learning more about industries. - One Up on Wall Street - Lynch. High level advice, but good stuff. If…
on “Buffett FAQ” ↗…about has been around for years. Short term gains at the expense of long term growth? Yup. Executives manipulating something to make their company look good? Yup. Read "The Intelligent Investor" or "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits", which give examples of things companies did 50 and 30 years ago.
on “The Dumbest Idea In The World: Maximizing Shareholder Value” ↗The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, Irrational Exuberance, Intelligent Investor (super dense), A Random Walk Down Wall Street, Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits.
on “I was broke due to Covid-19 so I built a stock tool” ↗…Investor, have always done well over a samples above a few years. (N.b. Warren Buffet hasn't been a value investor for a long time, because he has too much to manage. He was strongly inspired by Fisher's Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, which gave us the concept of "growth stocks".) (N.b. 2, value investing ETFs are mostly terrible, fundamentally not investing in value stocks due to their structures.) Carisle's Acquierer's Multiple…
on “Does Market Timing Work?” ↗