Long-Term Value Quotes

Generally speaking, investing in yourself is the best thing you can do. Anything that improves your own talents; nobody can tax it or take it away from you. They can run up huge deficits and the dollar can become worth far less. You can have all kinds of things happen. But if you’ve got talent yourself, and you’ve maximized your talent, you’ve got a tremendous asset that can return ten-fold.

The least outlay is not always the greatest gain.

Don't spend all of your money a quarter at a time. Save up and buy something special, something fine, something of lasting value, or something that will give you rich memories for a lifetime. Remember, all that candy money can add up to a small fortune.

The dominance of short-term perspectives has led to routine decisions in the markets that sacrifice the long-term buildup of genuine value in pursuit of artificial, short-term gains.

The number one idea is to view a stock as an ownership of the business and to judge the staying quality of the business in terms of its competitive advantage. Look for more value in terms of discounted future cash-flow than you are paying for. Move only when you have an advantage.

Not the spectacular things are the important things - the unspectacular things are the important things, especially in the future.

Anything free costs twice as much in the long run or turns out worthless.

Whether you stay private or go public, after all is said and done, a CEO's job is to create lasting shareholder value.

We never pull down the quality of the product, and I think that pays in the long term. People come up to me and say, 'I'm still wearing a Missoni sweater from 30 years ago, and it still looks great.' So quality, specificity and passion.

Books constitute capital. A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years. It is not, then, an article of mere consumption but fairly of capital, and often in the case of professional men, setting out in life, it is their only capital.

Buy with your heart, not your head. You can look at all the aspects that make a purchase practical, but that kind of thinking makes it an investment rather than a home.

It's easier to explain price once than to apologize for quality forever.

So much easier to aim for the smallest possible audience, not the largest, to build long-term value among a trusted, delighted tribe, to create work that matters and stands the test of time.

Business happens over years and years. Value is measured in the total upside of a business relationship, not by how much you squeezed out in any one deal.

Create more value than you capture.

I have not been a believer of point guidance. It really limits your flexibility to do what you want. It leads to behavior that is not supportive of long-term shareholder value.

It's not how much something's worth today, it's what it's worth in five or 10 years.

Music is not a very stable business. It comes and it goes, and so does money, but your education stays with you for the rest of your life. When you have that education, and you have nothing to fall back on, you can get a get a job anywhere.

I do lament how many investors focus on all the short-term sugar buzz of some marginal improvement in something - nothing history books are ever going to be written about. In many cases, these are quick and easy ways to make money.

I look for gravitas and substance that can outlast the theatrical experience.

Profit has to be a means to other ends rather than an end in itself.

In a truly great company profits and cash flow become like blood and water to a healthy body: They are absolutely essential for life but they are not the very point of life

Having spent almost 25 years in different roles within Investor, I have truly enjoyed working with creating long-term value in our companies.

Education is more valuable than money, in the long run.

I don't think a true company - one that builds sustainable value - can ever only exist online or remotely.