Never count on making a good sale

"Never count on making a good sale. Have the purchase price be so attractive that even a mediocre sale gives good results."

[Warren Buffett in Berkshire Hathaway's 1974 Annual Report]

The most important quality for an investor

"The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect. You don't need tons of IQ in this business. You don't have to be able to play three-dimensional chess or duplicate bridge. You need a temperament that neither derives great pleasure from being with the crowd or against the crowd. You know you're right, not because of the position of others, but because your facts and your reasoning are right."

[Warren Buffett in Adam's Smith's Money World show, June 20, 1988]

Warren Buffett try to price, rather than time, purchases

"We try to price, rather than time, purchases. In our view, it is folly to forego buying shares in an outstanding business whose long-term future is predictable, because of short-term worries about an economy or a stock market that we know to be unpredictable. Why scrap an informed decision because of an uninformed guess?"

[Warren Buffett in Berkshire Hathaway's 1994 Annual Report]

What does the market serve as

"The market is there only as a reference point to see if anybody is offering to do anything foolish. When we invest in stocks, we invest in businesses. You simply have to behave according to what is rational rather than according to what is fashionable."

[Warren Buffett in Fortune, January 4, 1988]

What does Warren Buffett do?

"I'm an analyst basically. I try to figure out what businesses are worth, then divide by the number of shares outstanding."

[Warren Buffett in Omaha World-Herald, October 18, 1987, quoting Money magazine]

How Tax affects Business Value

"If you can eliminate the government as a 46% partner, the business will be far more valuable"