It was clearly a different era. Since then, the widespread alignment of incentives between management and shareholders, and technological change, has fundamentally reshaped markets.
Still, there’s a certain nostalgia to that period, at least from my perspective.
Loved the post! I instantly remembered that sentence from when I read "The Snowball", which is a great book and I highly recommend it. Conviction sizing matters much more than most people think it does.
The Snowball is indeed a great read. It looks a bit intimidating when you first pick it up because of its size, but I doubt there is a better book written about Buffett.
- Buffett had unique talents (photographic memory, extreme discipline) that made high concentration in single stocks viable for him but dangerous for most investors.
- The 1950s market was fundamentally different - information was scarce and competition limited. Today, algorithms find these opportunities instantly.
The deeper you dive wrt Buffett, the more his sheer Brilliance, Focus, Self-Reliance truly comes shining through! Thank you for shining another distant light on a humble young man from Omaha who has changed my life. along with thousands of others. And look at his AAPL trade, in his late 80s and 90s with >$100B in gains. Unreal! He is certainly the GOAT!
excellent - I appreciate anything Buffett. These early investment stories are especially terrific. Insight into 'why' some of these businesses were bought is so helpful for learning tips and getting into his mindset.
Thank you for an excellent piece. I appreciate the research and I found it very informative.
I think a lot of investors take note of Buffet’s approach later in his life, but forget that they don’t hold billions of dollars. There is a lot of value to be found in the smaller sums (that most of us hold). There is a reason that Quant firms have to keep their size restricted, because their strategy can’t be expanded to such a scale.
Investing is quite easy when your purchases don’t move the bid ask spread.
A fantastic article - I've never seen as much information on this topic!
Funnily enough, I went to the Berkshire AM about 15 years ago
and got to ask a question - I tried to pump Buffett for information on
pretty much this topic (my question was something like could he give
some particular examples of times in his career when he put a very large
percentage into one investment). Buffett's response wasn't that informative,
but this one was worth waiting 15 years for!
Thank you, Isaac. I’m really glad you found it useful.
And that’s amazing that you got to ask a question at the Berkshire meeting. I honestly do not know many people who have had that opportunity.
Very insightful breakdown, thanks Noel. Position sizing is arguably more important than hit rate. Something I'm still figuring out!
Yes, that’s true. But it also takes a strong stomach to actually do it.
Outstanding article. I didn’t see the time go by.
It was clearly a different era. Since then, the widespread alignment of incentives between management and shareholders, and technological change, has fundamentally reshaped markets.
Still, there’s a certain nostalgia to that period, at least from my perspective.
I appreciate it very much, and I completely agree!
Loved the post! I instantly remembered that sentence from when I read "The Snowball", which is a great book and I highly recommend it. Conviction sizing matters much more than most people think it does.
The Snowball is indeed a great read. It looks a bit intimidating when you first pick it up because of its size, but I doubt there is a better book written about Buffett.
Happy 2026
Excellent analysis, some additional context:
- Buffett had unique talents (photographic memory, extreme discipline) that made high concentration in single stocks viable for him but dangerous for most investors.
- The 1950s market was fundamentally different - information was scarce and competition limited. Today, algorithms find these opportunities instantly.
https://companycharts.substack.com/p/12-microcaps-trading-below-net-cash?r=6kpr46
Don't think any of these are liquidating but are interesting just due to the nature of the market cap being less than Net Cash.
The deeper you dive wrt Buffett, the more his sheer Brilliance, Focus, Self-Reliance truly comes shining through! Thank you for shining another distant light on a humble young man from Omaha who has changed my life. along with thousands of others. And look at his AAPL trade, in his late 80s and 90s with >$100B in gains. Unreal! He is certainly the GOAT!
excellent - I appreciate anything Buffett. These early investment stories are especially terrific. Insight into 'why' some of these businesses were bought is so helpful for learning tips and getting into his mindset.
Thank you for an excellent piece. I appreciate the research and I found it very informative.
I think a lot of investors take note of Buffet’s approach later in his life, but forget that they don’t hold billions of dollars. There is a lot of value to be found in the smaller sums (that most of us hold). There is a reason that Quant firms have to keep their size restricted, because their strategy can’t be expanded to such a scale.
Investing is quite easy when your purchases don’t move the bid ask spread.