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Show Notes
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings (Philip A. Fisher)
- Amazon USA Store: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0471445509?tag=9natree-20
- Amazon Worldwide Store: https://global.buys.trade/Common-Stocks-and-Uncommon-Profits-and-Other-Writings-Philip-A-Fisher.html
- Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/common-stocks-and-uncommon-profits-and-other-writings/id1648864119?itsct=books_box_link&itscg=30200&ls=1&at=1001l3bAw&ct=9natree
- eBay: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Common+Stocks+and+Uncommon+Profits+and+Other+Writings+Philip+A+Fisher+&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5339060787&customid=9natree&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
- Read more: https://mybook.top/read/0471445509/
#PhilipFisher #growthinvesting #scuttlebuttresearch #qualitycompanies #longterminvesting #stockselection #managementevaluation #CommonStocksandUncommonProfitsandOtherWritings
These are takeaways from this book.
Firstly, The Fifteen Points of a Superior Common Stock, Fisher’s most enduring contribution is his framework for judging whether a company is truly exceptional, not merely temporarily popular. He organizes evaluation into a set of practical questions that push investors beyond ratios and headlines. The points focus on whether the business has products or services with sufficient market potential, whether management is committed to long range growth, and whether the company can sustain that growth through research and development, sales organization, and operational excellence. He also highlights the importance of profit margins, cost controls, and the ability to maintain or improve profitability as the firm scales. Several questions are explicitly about people: management integrity, depth of talent, candid communication with owners, and a culture that supports innovation. The value of this approach is not that it produces a simplistic score, but that it forces structured thinking about quality, durability, and adaptability. Fisher is effectively describing what modern investors call a moat, though he approaches it through tangible evidence in products, processes, and management behavior. Readers learn to look for companies that can reinvest at high returns for many years, creating compounding outcomes that are hard to replicate with average businesses.
Secondly, Scuttlebutt Research and How to Know What Financials Do Not Say, A central theme is that superior investment decisions require understanding a business from the ground level, not only from public filings. Fisher advocates scuttlebutt, gathering informed perspectives from people who interact with the company: customers who can speak to product value, suppliers who see purchasing discipline and growth, competitors who recognize strengths and vulnerabilities, and industry contacts who understand technology and distribution. This work is not gossip hunting; it is a method to test whether a company’s reputation for innovation, service, and execution matches reality. The investor’s job is to synthesize many independent observations, weigh credibility, and cross check claims against measurable results such as margins, market share trends, and reinvestment behavior. Fisher’s process also encourages asking the right questions, for example what makes a customer switch, why a supplier prefers or avoids a firm, or whether a competitor fears a particular capability. In modern terms, the approach resembles channel checks and primary research, but Fisher stresses ethics and discretion, and he warns against relying on a single source. The payoff is early insight into competitive dynamics and management quality, often before they show up clearly in reported numbers.
Thirdly, Growth Investing With Patience and Concentration, Fisher argues that the largest gains typically come from a few extraordinary holdings held for a long time, rather than from constant rotation among many average ideas. He favors a thoughtful level of concentration built on deep conviction, because meaningful exposure to the best opportunities allows compounding to matter. This is paired with patience: once an investor owns a truly superior company, frequent selling based on short term market moves can sacrifice the very outcomes the strategy seeks. Fisher also addresses the temptation to trade around perceived cycles, emphasizing that long term business progress, not short term price patterns, is the key driver of uncommon profits. He discusses how to think about adding to a position, how to judge whether a company’s fundamentals are improving, and when price declines are noise versus signals. The overall philosophy pushes readers to treat common stock ownership as partial ownership of a business, requiring ongoing but not frantic monitoring. Modern investors will recognize parallels with buy and hold quality growth, as well as the idea that time in the market can be more powerful than timing the market. The topic reinforces that discipline and temperament are as important as analysis in achieving superior results.
Fourthly, When to Sell: Protecting Compounding Without Overtrading, Although Fisher is often associated with holding for the long term, he provides clear guidance on selling, centered on fundamentals rather than fear or fashion. The most important reason to sell is deterioration in the company’s key qualities: a weakening of innovation, evidence that management is no longer acting with integrity or long range focus, loss of competitive advantage, or a strategic shift that reduces the ability to reinvest profitably. He is skeptical of selling simply because a stock looks higher than it used to, since the best companies can remain undervalued relative to their future potential for many years. At the same time, he acknowledges that errors happen, and he urges investors to recognize when an original thesis is wrong or when new information changes the long term outlook. This balance aims to preserve the power of compounding while avoiding loyalty to a broken story. Fisher’s selling discipline also discourages reactive behavior during market volatility, because price declines alone do not necessarily imply fundamental decline. For readers, the practical takeaway is to define the business characteristics that justified the purchase, monitor those drivers over time, and sell only when those drivers are clearly impaired or when a demonstrably better opportunity exists with similar conviction.
Lastly, Management Quality, Culture, and the Hidden Drivers of Exceptional Returns, Across the book’s essays, Fisher repeatedly returns to the idea that management quality is the decisive variable in long term results. He looks for leaders who communicate candidly, allocate capital intelligently, and build organizations that can grow without losing discipline. This includes creating systems that encourage innovation, attracting and retaining talented people, and maintaining ethical standards that protect reputation and customer trust. Fisher also explores how cultures form competitive advantages through superior sales organizations, customer service, and a willingness to invest ahead of demand when opportunities are real. These intangible factors are difficult to capture in standard valuation models, yet they strongly influence a company’s ability to sustain high returns on capital and defend its position. Fisher’s emphasis anticipates later thinking about qualitative analysis, intangible assets, and the role of incentives in corporate performance. For investors, the lesson is to treat management not as a background detail but as a central part of risk assessment. A firm with strong products but poor leadership can squander its edge, while capable leaders can extend growth through smart acquisitions, product expansion, and operational improvements. Understanding people and culture becomes a core part of understanding the investment.
- Amazon USA Store: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0471445509?tag=9natree-20
- Amazon Worldwide Store: https://global.buys.trade/Common-Stocks-and-Uncommon-Profits-and-Other-Writings-Philip-A-Fisher.html
- Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/common-stocks-and-uncommon-profits-and-other-writings/id1648864119?itsct=books_box_link&itscg=30200&ls=1&at=1001l3bAw&ct=9natree
- eBay: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Common+Stocks+and+Uncommon+Profits+and+Other+Writings+Philip+A+Fisher+&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5339060787&customid=9natree&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
- Read more: https://mybook.top/read/0471445509/
#PhilipFisher #growthinvesting #scuttlebuttresearch #qualitycompanies #longterminvesting #stockselection #managementevaluation #CommonStocksandUncommonProfitsandOtherWritings
These are takeaways from this book.
Firstly, The Fifteen Points of a Superior Common Stock, Fisher’s most enduring contribution is his framework for judging whether a company is truly exceptional, not merely temporarily popular. He organizes evaluation into a set of practical questions that push investors beyond ratios and headlines. The points focus on whether the business has products or services with sufficient market potential, whether management is committed to long range growth, and whether the company can sustain that growth through research and development, sales organization, and operational excellence. He also highlights the importance of profit margins, cost controls, and the ability to maintain or improve profitability as the firm scales. Several questions are explicitly about people: management integrity, depth of talent, candid communication with owners, and a culture that supports innovation. The value of this approach is not that it produces a simplistic score, but that it forces structured thinking about quality, durability, and adaptability. Fisher is effectively describing what modern investors call a moat, though he approaches it through tangible evidence in products, processes, and management behavior. Readers learn to look for companies that can reinvest at high returns for many years, creating compounding outcomes that are hard to replicate with average businesses.
Secondly, Scuttlebutt Research and How to Know What Financials Do Not Say, A central theme is that superior investment decisions require understanding a business from the ground level, not only from public filings. Fisher advocates scuttlebutt, gathering informed perspectives from people who interact with the company: customers who can speak to product value, suppliers who see purchasing discipline and growth, competitors who recognize strengths and vulnerabilities, and industry contacts who understand technology and distribution. This work is not gossip hunting; it is a method to test whether a company’s reputation for innovation, service, and execution matches reality. The investor’s job is to synthesize many independent observations, weigh credibility, and cross check claims against measurable results such as margins, market share trends, and reinvestment behavior. Fisher’s process also encourages asking the right questions, for example what makes a customer switch, why a supplier prefers or avoids a firm, or whether a competitor fears a particular capability. In modern terms, the approach resembles channel checks and primary research, but Fisher stresses ethics and discretion, and he warns against relying on a single source. The payoff is early insight into competitive dynamics and management quality, often before they show up clearly in reported numbers.
Thirdly, Growth Investing With Patience and Concentration, Fisher argues that the largest gains typically come from a few extraordinary holdings held for a long time, rather than from constant rotation among many average ideas. He favors a thoughtful level of concentration built on deep conviction, because meaningful exposure to the best opportunities allows compounding to matter. This is paired with patience: once an investor owns a truly superior company, frequent selling based on short term market moves can sacrifice the very outcomes the strategy seeks. Fisher also addresses the temptation to trade around perceived cycles, emphasizing that long term business progress, not short term price patterns, is the key driver of uncommon profits. He discusses how to think about adding to a position, how to judge whether a company’s fundamentals are improving, and when price declines are noise versus signals. The overall philosophy pushes readers to treat common stock ownership as partial ownership of a business, requiring ongoing but not frantic monitoring. Modern investors will recognize parallels with buy and hold quality growth, as well as the idea that time in the market can be more powerful than timing the market. The topic reinforces that discipline and temperament are as important as analysis in achieving superior results.
Fourthly, When to Sell: Protecting Compounding Without Overtrading, Although Fisher is often associated with holding for the long term, he provides clear guidance on selling, centered on fundamentals rather than fear or fashion. The most important reason to sell is deterioration in the company’s key qualities: a weakening of innovation, evidence that management is no longer acting with integrity or long range focus, loss of competitive advantage, or a strategic shift that reduces the ability to reinvest profitably. He is skeptical of selling simply because a stock looks higher than it used to, since the best companies can remain undervalued relative to their future potential for many years. At the same time, he acknowledges that errors happen, and he urges investors to recognize when an original thesis is wrong or when new information changes the long term outlook. This balance aims to preserve the power of compounding while avoiding loyalty to a broken story. Fisher’s selling discipline also discourages reactive behavior during market volatility, because price declines alone do not necessarily imply fundamental decline. For readers, the practical takeaway is to define the business characteristics that justified the purchase, monitor those drivers over time, and sell only when those drivers are clearly impaired or when a demonstrably better opportunity exists with similar conviction.
Lastly, Management Quality, Culture, and the Hidden Drivers of Exceptional Returns, Across the book’s essays, Fisher repeatedly returns to the idea that management quality is the decisive variable in long term results. He looks for leaders who communicate candidly, allocate capital intelligently, and build organizations that can grow without losing discipline. This includes creating systems that encourage innovation, attracting and retaining talented people, and maintaining ethical standards that protect reputation and customer trust. Fisher also explores how cultures form competitive advantages through superior sales organizations, customer service, and a willingness to invest ahead of demand when opportunities are real. These intangible factors are difficult to capture in standard valuation models, yet they strongly influence a company’s ability to sustain high returns on capital and defend its position. Fisher’s emphasis anticipates later thinking about qualitative analysis, intangible assets, and the role of incentives in corporate performance. For investors, the lesson is to treat management not as a background detail but as a central part of risk assessment. A firm with strong products but poor leadership can squander its edge, while capable leaders can extend growth through smart acquisitions, product expansion, and operational improvements. Understanding people and culture becomes a core part of understanding the investment.
