Market History

“As history has taught us, most of the time, most of the crowd moves long after the optimum time to have moved is passed. So it is with investment trends, which start with the belief of a few and end with the conviction of the many.”

“Extrapolating existing conditions too far into the future is likely to lead to disappointment. But as long as people continue to make this mistake, and as long as the market consensus reflects it, history will continue to repeat itself in Wall Street.”

“On October 24, 1929, millions of Americans recalled poignantly the hundreds of blithe prophecies that our feelings never again would be harrowed by absurd exhibitions of mob hysteria or mass emotionalism in the stock market. We were living in a new era.”

“In the history of every great catastrophe, you will find that some masterly bit of stupidity sets fire to the oil-soaked rags.”

“We tried to buy good companies to start with. We don’t think there are supermen who can renovate them and transform them into wonderful, highly profitable enterprises. We can’t do it, and history shows that nobody else can do it, either.”

“Of all the mysteries of the stock exchange there is none so impenetrable as why there should be a buyer for everyone who seeks to sell. October 24, 1929 showed that what is mysterious is not inevitable. Often there were no buyers, and only wide vertical declines could anyone be induced to bid.”

“History doesn’t repeat, but it provides probabilities.”

“If we take a long look at the performance of common stocks over recorded market history, we find that they have indeed been a good investment — providing, of course, that the investor has had a hundred years or so to play the market.”

“The history of markets is one of overreaction in both directions.”

“The lesson of history is that norms are never normal forever. Paradigm shifts belie blind faith in regression to the mean.”

“The history of the stock market shows many periods of twenty years or more when stock prices ended up precisely where they began.”

“History shows us, over and over, that bull markets can go well beyond rational valuation levels as long as the outlook for future earnings is positive.”

“All of history and all of life is stuffed full of the unexpected and the unthinkable.”

“The constant lesson of history is the dominant role played by surprise. Just when we are most comfortable with an environment and come to believe we finally understand it, the ground shifts under our feet.”

“What you learn from history is the market goes down. It goes down a lot.”

“The history of business the world over is full of examples of businesses which have grown from modest beginnings to stupendous earning power.”

“Economic history never repeats itself exactly.”

“History shows the same patterns repeating.”

“Reliance on historical perspectives must be tempered by individual market analysis.”

“Unprecedented events occur with some regularity, so be prepared.”

“Historically, many companies that have had terrible times have come back, or many of them do. A decline doesn’t mean it’s the end.”

“History does not tell you of future things happening.”