Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings

If you are into long term growth stocks and perspectives then this is a book to read. However for a swing trader like myself there wasn't as much usable content. Still a worth while read and would recommend

I enjoyed reading the book. However, I don't know how practicul the advise is anymore. The recommended techniques for making profit depend to a large degree on skuttlebutt, which I don't believe is as easily obtained as in the past.

A reasonable book but not overly informative or inspiring. Buy James Smith's book Zero to £1 million or remenicences of a stock operator, they are both superior. I wouldn't buy this book again, it's underwhelming.

Philip Fisher cannot write even if his life depended on it. He must be a great stock picker and securities analyst, but teaching this art and writing a book is definitely not his forte.

In his book 'Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits', our clueless writer rambles on about his father for the first 40 pages or so. I am sure his father must be an inspiring personality and all, but if he wanted to write about his father then maybe Philip should consider writing an autobiography instead!

Also, for reasons beyond comprehension, Fisher has chosen to word his sentences in a very convoluted fashion....and not in a "language is rich with English" kind of way but "author does't know what to write and and hence he is going around in circles" kind of way.

Somehow, my persistence to read this book got me through the first 150 pages or so...I must have restarted atleast 4-5 times, but the hope of finding some valuable knowledge was enticing enough that I decided to put myself through this ordeal called Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits.

But alas! This wasn't the worst part of it! I realized my knowledge on stocks, equity selection, fundamental analysis had increased by zilch! Now how on earth does Fisher expect a humble retail/individual investor like me to find if the executives in certain companies that interest me are "having good relations with each other"??? His scuttlebutt or whatever approach seems almost unrealistic to follow for a retail investor, and maybe even professional investor.

I ended up returning this book....don't want to take the risk of anyone else in my house reading it. I do like my family afterall...

After my son read the essays of Warren Buffett, he got insight into his next read and requested I send him this book. His final review was that it was a good decision he made to secure this book also. I will recommend it for anyone who is interested in Owning Stocks.

Not a good book on investing. The Author stresses that the investor needs to get to know the management of a company before he buys the stock. How does the average and quite frankly the above average investor go about doing this? Hi my name is Yale Reynolds. I'm thinking about buying a thousand shares of your company. When will Mr. Buffet be available for a meeting with me?

As this is the book that influenced Warren Buffett to adjust Ben Graham's classic value investing methodology, it's definitely worth a read.
The most useful chapters for an investor are Chapter 3 "What to Buy: the fifteen points to look for in a common stock", Chapter 8 "Five Don'ts for Investors, and Chapter 9 " Five More Don'ts for Investors." Fisher's Common Stocks and Graham's the Intelligent Investor are the two basic building blocks that every investor must master to be successful in the stock market.

However the essential message of Fisher is that it is better to pay a premium for a great business than a discount for a lousy business. To this end, Fisher goes about explaining how to uncover such great businesses in the securities market.

This book is truly amazing. Philip A. Fisher talks about every important point for the average investor and reminds experienced investors of the basic principle that are so vital to the investing process. He doesn't only suggest a method of finding great companies but he also explains which companies to avoid.

Near the beginning, the 'Scuttlebutt' method is one of the best parts of the book. This method is for an intelligent investor who uses ties to the company in order to find all of it's information and rumors. This method allows the investor to gather much needed qualitative information on the company and it's potential to succeed.

Philip Fisher virtually gives away his investing process to anyone who reads this book. He lists and explains his fifteen points for a company to qualify for him to invest in. By following these points, one can easily filter out many unsuccessful companies and choose ones that will return a decent reward for the investor.

This is an amazing book recommended to anyone who is patient and hard working. As Philip A. Fisher says in Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, make sure you do your homework!

Fisher is a growth stock adherent, and some have said that he is the Father of Growth Investing. Many contrast him to Benjamin Graham, whom more than a few have dubbed the Father of Value Investing. Fisher's book, Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, provides an uneasy cornerstone for growth stock and technology stock investing. However, at some point, growth stock investing became synonymous with technology stock investing. As such, on one extreme, we have Fisher and growth (tech) stocks, and on the other we have Graham(and Dodd) and boring but predictable concerns with a margin of safety, and adherents to either extreme bicker back and forth as to which method for selecting common stocks for investment is better.

'Growth', I believe, is all fine and good, so long as you can find outfits that can hold their value, and continue to build value. Moreover, like its sister 'Growth', 'Opportunity' too is a wonderful thing, so long as 'Growth' and 'Opportunity' can be turned into profits and (dividend) checks in the mail.

Unlike Graham's sage advice, with which I agree 100 percent, I don't necessarily agree with Fisher's stance on many investment issues, but I do concede that the reasoning behind them does have merit. Take his position on dividends, for example. A company with excess cash and no reasonable opportunities for investment well within its circle of competence should send that cash to its shareholders, so long as it maintains a satisfactory reserve fund, can meet its financing needs, and has all of its investment needs met. Long experience has shown that companies that sit on top of a large (and growing) cash pile inevitably succumb to the temptation to squander it somehow or another (usually on vanity purchases), always to the detriment of its core business. Thus, companies that are generating cash in excess of their immediate and foreseeable needs (beyond a built-in cushion) should pay a dividend, and increase that dividend as earnings increase. Firms that don't do this, I believe, simply do not make for wise investments.

Furthermore, many have legitimately questioned the applicability of one technique underlying Fisher's investment method- the use of scuttlebutt. Most concerns have centered around how to go about doing it, which to me raises certain warning flags, and not on more important facets such as its usefulness (with regard to the kind of information gleaned) in practice and its potential (negative) consequences. One must exercise extreme caution when using scuttlebutt, for the following reasons. First, people, from individual investors to managers at publicly listed companies, especially the smaller tech outfits, know about this book, and so they also know how to use the book's information in order to present themselves so as to attract your investment dollars. Second, reliance on scuttlebutt depends to a great extent on how it comes your way (and Fisher partially acknowledges this, but limits his discussion to 'disgruntled' former employees of a company under consideration), and you have to exercise caution here, for you may find yourself in big trouble with the Federal Boys, or worse- with legal vultures circling over your head, should you act on it. Third, companies have a distinct disliking to scuttlebutt, as it may serve as one source of leaks of trade secrets or other sensitive information. Fourth, related to the third point, companies may intentionally use 'scuttlebutt' to 'plant' dis-information or even mis-information before small-time investors, specifically, and institutional investors, always. Finally, for those intrepid souls wondering how to put scuttlebutt to work, as an aside, for anyone who has attended college or some trade school, getting the inside story may be as easy as contacting the alumni office of your alma mater, or even as simple as hitting up a former frat, sorority or other college club member. More simply, one can directly contact folks involved in industry trade organizations as well.

In my mind, Mr. Fisher's method works best when one applies it to large and established concerns. When I ponder the investment problem, I come to the conclusion that your most reasonable assessment of a company must rest on an analysis of the company's past behavior, coupled with a current snapshot of the company in the context of its industry, and not on scuttlebutt. But then, Ben Graham said pretty much the same thing over and over again in his book Security Analysis.

Overall, I liked Fisher's Fifteen Points, but I liked the little mini-book, "Conservative Investors Sleep Well", which forms Part Two of the book, even better. You could obtain the same information by reading a denser book like Competitive Strategy, by Michael Porter, but getting the same information, in condensed form, from a seasoned and successful practitioner like Mr. Fisher imparts a level credibility, reliability and trust that all other sources lack. I also like Fisher's emphasis on understanding the business (and visiting the company if necessary to get detailed information, wherever possible, necessary and appropriate), a point that Graham, although he did not overlook it, did not specifically emphasize.

One must understand Fisher in order to know what to expect if all goes well with investment operations. In contrast, one must understand Graham in order to know what to expect if everything goes to hell in a handbasket. One can not successfully invest with only one or the other, as doing so will lead to mediocre results at best, and poor results more typically. One needs to know both.

Although I will not put the concept of scuttlebutt to practice, as it strikes me as being both dangerous and speculative, I will put the rest of the information to work. In sum, I will definitely keep the book, and it will sit next to my copies of Benjamin Graham's The Intelligent Investor and Security Analysis, where it will remain as one of my must-have and must-consult investment references.

You love to communicate and hate balance sheets: then this book is for you. The Theme of "Common Stocks" is: How to pick low risk, high potential growth stocks by thoroughly talking to people (scuttlebutt)? Typical conversational partners are customers, employees, suppliers, top management. He gives clear advice of the matters to be addressed. Actually doing it is work, a lot of work.

General advice is given also. Like the dangers of so called safe investments.

You get three different books written at different times:
(1) "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits" (145 pages)
(2) "Conservative Investors Sleep Well" (50 pages)
(3) "Developing an Investment Philosophy" (57 pages)
Also the introduction of his son Kenneth Fisher is of considerable size (23+27 pages).

If you are interested in biographies or in financial history you also find a lot of interest.

In total a very useful and entertaining book and a totally different and complementary approach to value investing then the great Security Analysis: The Classic 1934 Edition.

This book is truly amazing. Philip A. Fisher talks about every important point for the average investor and reminds experienced investors of the basic principle that are so vital to the investing process. He doesn't only suggest a method of finding great companies but he also explains which companies to avoid.

Near the beginning, the 'Scuttlebutt' method is one of the best parts of the book. This method is for an intelligent investor who uses ties to the company in order to find all of it's information and rumors. This method allows the investor to gather much needed qualitative information on the company and it's potential to succeed.

Philip Fisher virtually gives away his investing process to anyone who reads this book. He lists and explains his fifteen points for a company to qualify for him to invest in. By following these points, one can easily filter out many unsuccessful companies and choose ones that will return a decent reward for the investor.

This is an amazing book recommended to anyone who is patient and hard working. As Philip A. Fisher says in Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, make sure you do your homework!

Fisher is a growth stock adherent, and some have said that he is the Father of Growth Investing. Many contrast him to Benjamin Graham, whom more than a few have dubbed the Father of Value Investing. Fisher's book, Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, provides an uneasy cornerstone for growth stock and technology stock investing. However, at some point, growth stock investing became synonymous with technology stock investing. As such, on one extreme, we have Fisher and growth (tech) stocks, and on the other we have Graham(and Dodd) and boring but predictable concerns with a margin of safety, and adherents to either extreme bicker back and forth as to which method for selecting common stocks for investment is better.

'Growth', I believe, is all fine and good, so long as you can find outfits that can hold their value, and continue to build value. Moreover, like its sister 'Growth', 'Opportunity' too is a wonderful thing, so long as 'Growth' and 'Opportunity' can be turned into profits and (dividend) checks in the mail.

Unlike Graham's sage advice, with which I agree 100 percent, I don't necessarily agree with Fisher's stance on many investment issues, but I do concede that the reasoning behind them does have merit. Take his position on dividends, for example. A company with excess cash and no reasonable opportunities for investment well within its circle of competence should send that cash to its shareholders, so long as it maintains a satisfactory reserve fund, can meet its financing needs, and has all of its investment needs met. Long experience has shown that companies that sit on top of a large (and growing) cash pile inevitably succumb to the temptation to squander it somehow or another (usually on vanity purchases), always to the detriment of its core business. Thus, companies that are generating cash in excess of their immediate and foreseeable needs (beyond a built-in cushion) should pay a dividend, and increase that dividend as earnings increase. Firms that don't do this, I believe, simply do not make for wise investments.

Furthermore, many have legitimately questioned the applicability of one technique underlying Fisher's investment method- the use of scuttlebutt. Most concerns have centered around how to go about doing it, which to me raises certain warning flags, and not on more important facets such as its usefulness (with regard to the kind of information gleaned) in practice and its potential (negative) consequences. One must exercise extreme caution when using scuttlebutt, for the following reasons. First, people, from individual investors to managers at publicly listed companies, especially the smaller tech outfits, know about this book, and so they also know how to use the book's information in order to present themselves so as to attract your investment dollars. Second, reliance on scuttlebutt depends to a great extent on how it comes your way (and Fisher partially acknowledges this, but limits his discussion to 'disgruntled' former employees of a company under consideration), and you have to exercise caution here, for you may find yourself in big trouble with the Federal Boys, or worse- with legal vultures circling over your head, should you act on it. Third, companies have a distinct disliking to scuttlebutt, as it may serve as one source of leaks of trade secrets or other sensitive information. Fourth, related to the third point, companies may intentionally use 'scuttlebutt' to 'plant' dis-information or even mis-information before small-time investors, specifically, and institutional investors, always. Finally, for those intrepid souls wondering how to put scuttlebutt to work, as an aside, for anyone who has attended college or some trade school, getting the inside story may be as easy as contacting the alumni office of your alma mater, or even as simple as hitting up a former frat, sorority or other college club member. More simply, one can directly contact folks involved in industry trade organizations as well.

In my mind, Mr. Fisher's method works best when one applies it to large and established concerns. When I ponder the investment problem, I come to the conclusion that your most reasonable assessment of a company must rest on an analysis of the company's past behavior, coupled with a current snapshot of the company in the context of its industry, and not on scuttlebutt. But then, Ben Graham said pretty much the same thing over and over again in his book Security Analysis.

Overall, I liked Fisher's Fifteen Points, but I liked the little mini-book, "Conservative Investors Sleep Well", which forms Part Two of the book, even better. You could obtain the same information by reading a denser book like Competitive Strategy, by Michael Porter, but getting the same information, in condensed form, from a seasoned and successful practitioner like Mr. Fisher imparts a level credibility, reliability and trust that all other sources lack. I also like Fisher's emphasis on understanding the business (and visiting the company if necessary to get detailed information, wherever possible, necessary and appropriate), a point that Graham, although he did not overlook it, did not specifically emphasize.

One must understand Fisher in order to know what to expect if all goes well with investment operations. In contrast, one must understand Graham in order to know what to expect if everything goes to hell in a handbasket. One can not successfully invest with only one or the other, as doing so will lead to mediocre results at best, and poor results more typically. One needs to know both.

Although I will not put the concept of scuttlebutt to practice, as it strikes me as being both dangerous and speculative, I will put the rest of the information to work. In sum, I will definitely keep the book, and it will sit next to my copies of Benjamin Graham's The Intelligent Investor and Security Analysis, where it will remain as one of my must-have and must-consult investment references.

You love to communicate and hate balance sheets: then this book is for you. The Theme of "Common Stocks" is: How to pick low risk, high potential growth stocks by thoroughly talking to people (scuttlebutt)? Typical conversational partners are customers, employees, suppliers, top management. He gives clear advice of the matters to be addressed. Actually doing it is work, a lot of work.

General advice is given also. Like the dangers of so called safe investments.

You get three different books written at different times:
(1) "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits" (145 pages)
(2) "Conservative Investors Sleep Well" (50 pages)
(3) "Developing an Investment Philosophy" (57 pages)
Also the introduction of his son Kenneth Fisher is of considerable size (23+27 pages).

If you are interested in biographies or in financial history you also find a lot of interest.

In total a very useful and entertaining book and a totally different and complementary approach to value investing then the great Security Analysis: The Classic 1934 Edition.

In 1958, for the first time, an investment guide made The New York Times' bestseller list. Since then, that book, Philip A. Fisher's Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits has become a classic of the personal finance genre, educating students and influencing top investors such as Warren Buffet. More than half a century after its publication, Fisher's advice on doing your homework so you can select long-term growth stocks still resonates. While some of the companies he refers to are long gone, many are still thriving, and though some of his examples evoke nostalgia (in 1958, for instance, color TV was new), he presciently calls for the coming of flat screen television. The book, which also includes Fisher's later writings, shows how he teased out great insights by asking companies "What are you doing that your competitors aren't doing yet?" getAbstract recommends this seminal classic on investing to business students, rookie securities analysts and private investors.

To the reviewers giving this book one star, I ask you to consider other investment books on the market. Most are full of hype, bad advice, and soon to be outdated methodologies. This book, along with The Intelligent Investor can stand the test of time.

Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits takes effort to read. I took notes on each chapter as I read it as a way to keep myself focused on what Fisher is trying to say. I don't think this makes him a poor writer. Rather, some of the concepts are deep enough that they take a careful reading and then a going over for the gems within.

In this book Fisher outlines a general philosophy for investing. He does not provide you with the tools necessary to implement the philosophy. You will need to do that work on your own by learning to read financial statements, investigate management, and learn about a company's business and industry. What he does provide you is a framework that will help you avoid making as many costly mistakes in your learning process or even never realizing that there are fundamentally sound and unsound methods of investing.

To the reviewer stating that Fisher advocates growth stocks at any cost, this assertion is simply untrue. Fisher clearly says that growth stocks (stock in a company with excellent future prospects) at value prices are the gems to look for. Growth stocks at fair prices are a second best choice and growth stocks at high prices may be acceptable under certain conditions. Poorly run companies should almost never be purchased, because even though they may be "cheap", information is more likely to come to light that will make that "cheap" price very costly.

I realized before I looked up this title on the store, it would have alot of 5 star reviews, simply for Fisher's stature in the market, and the praise he gets from Buffett. Having said that, your typical investor will probably not analyze the company the same way Fisher did.

Example in the book: Point 10-How good are the company's cost analysis and accounting controls? Fisher suggests talking to people within the company, at least to try to get some feel of how good they are, knowing it will be very difficult to get a precise understanding of how good they are. He spends a page basically explaining accounting controls are important, but it's difficult to analyze in a company.

There are a few things in the book like that above. Fisher stressed talking to the competition to get a sense of how well the company you are actually researching is doing.

There are other important gems in the book, however, that you should be able to find readily available on the internet or newspaper. These concepts have allowed me to make good money in the market, that I would have otherwise not earned as an investor in growth stocks. For that reason, this book is highly recommended for your growth stock investor.

It is so interesting to see Fisher praise companies such as Alcoa, Dupont, Dow, IBM, Texas Instruments, Hewlett Packard, and Motorola as excellent growth companies... in 1957. Very rarely does he mention a company not in business today, and I can only think of 2 that didn't "work out," Ampex and California Micro Devices. Neither of these are growth stories. However, continuing to name companies in 1957 that are today, steady, sizable operations should tell you something about his acumen for picking strong long term investments.

This is a book worth reading, understand some concepts will be hard to implement, but seeing the results he obtained gives you incentive to do the best you can to research as much as he did.

In summary: This book is not overrated, and it is the best "growth stock" book I have ever read.

Firstly, this is the first review that I have ever written for any product that I've bought off the store. Though I've wanted to write others, there have never been any incentive for me to do so. I felt that if I didn't write a review for this book, it would be a disservice for prospective investors, readers who wish to be more informed, and to the authors of this book.

Not only does this book go in-depth with proper fundamental analysis that, many will say, is the core of proper investing, but Fisher also combines the important aspects of psychological awareness and expresses great detail about the intricacies of the people behind the company. He vehemently express the importance of not just stocks, but the business behind the stocks. He goes over market efficiency, conservatism and safety vs. risk and reward, and explicitly informs you on the Dos and Don'ts of investing.

Whether you trade exclusively in individual stocks, index funds, ETFs, mutual funds, div-yield, or derivatives, Fisher's words are no less true than today than they were in the 20th century. Take the advice of the co-author in the introduction: Read, and re-read this book because it is a timeless classic that deserves your attention.

there are two excellent sources of information for early investors who seek knowledge on the history of markets, lessons that were learned and mechanisms for investing: those 2 are fool.com and this book!
first, it is important to keep in mind that this book is built for the long-term investor who seeks to invest in companies with high growth potential and generally lower risk.
second, in order to invest wisely for the long-term one needs an investing strategy/mechanism. among the many ones out there (e.g. fool.com rule breakers and makers), i would have to say that this book's 15 point mechanism is by far the most effective for one reason: it forces to _really_ get into the guts of a company - when it comes to long-term investing there is no other way.
finally, because this book is a classic, it meant to be read like a classic... at least 3 times! furthermore, one must put the 15 steps of the "scuttlebut" method in effect... not doing so on a regular basis would probably yield lowered results.
enjoy your reading and remember this:
"never run after money, for money can out-run you any day!"

This is a great book. For me, personally, scuttlebutt revolutionized my way of investing. Small-cap companies are not followed as closely as the big blue chip companies, and I found it essential to use the scuttlebutt approach to assess the strengths and weaknesses of individual companies. It is amazing what one can find out by talking with industry experts, competitors, salesmen, managers, and many other industry participants. This book teaches readers how to evaluate companies on a qualitative basis versus quantitative.

- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market

This is a great book. For me, personally, scuttlebutt revolutionized my way of investing. Small-cap companies are not followed as closely as the big blue chip companies, and I found it essential to use the scuttlebutt approach to assess the strengths and weaknesses of individual companies. It is amazing what one can find out by talking with industry experts, competitors, salesmen, managers, and many other industry participants. This book teaches readers how to evaluate companies on a qualitative basis versus quantitative.

- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market

An excellent book. Can be understood by any layman and the ideas expounded are applicable not only in the US but I think universal. The book has changed my way of looking at buying stocks and to be focused on the growth stocks for long term growth instead of following the ups and downs of the stock market everyday. But there are some pointers that might be a little bit hard to be followed by the layman. Such are the information needed about the organisations' management that your intended to buy in. These information are hard to come by and more importantly assessing them; and another wrong steps could cost the investor. But, again, if to follow Fisher's ideas about spreading the risk, think the cost would not be too heartbreaking.

Fisher is an absolute must for all investors, amateur and professional alike. He writes down such sage advice that you can't help but be awed. Fisher writes as though he is a mentor or a professor, teaching the intricacies of the market and how best (at least the method that he used; he states himself that everyone's method of investing will vary) to increase your own net worth.

I must say that I can't really see myself using the fifteen points that he says he follows. For one, the common everyday investor would have a lot harder time applying the points and interviewing executives and others who have some working knowledge of that industry and company. His method is called the scuttlebutt method, in which you do your research and gain 50% of your knowledge of the company before you go to the company and interview the top executives, the competitors, the suppliers and the employees and so on. Although I must say I see the worth in what he is saying, I can't see the common investor in today's market being able to apply this method (Fisher himself says that because he was a fund manager he had connections to executives and scientists and people high up that he could speak to, which isn't something most people have access to).

Other than the fifteen points (which are a good broad way of looking at a company with some that can be applied) and the scuttlebutt method, the rest of the book is an invaluable tool for any investor. Even part two, Conservative Investors Sleep Well, imparts some invaluable information that every amateur investor should have read. Part three parts with some useful insight as well, although it focuses more on how Fisher came to have his philosophy and thus is more of a chronological reiteration of his past.

Fisher is a must for all investors. With this book you don't get much on the practical how to of investing, the actual know how, but more of a philosophy and a lesson on investing, which is even more useful. I would highly recommend this book to everyone.

This is an excellent book but is now outdated. By outdated I mean there is a better way to implement Fisher's strategy. Today the strategy can be executed at lower costs and less risk by using index funds or exchange traded funds and achieve superior results at about 30% less risk.

I also recommend a little book titled How to Make Money in the Stock Market-Buy 2,500 different stocks for $1000 - Pay no Commission. Easy to read packed with precise directions for success. A cookbook for the investor just follow directions. I enjoyed this book a great deal. It shows how indexing and diversification strategies work and why they are so important to investing success. Unlike many other books, this one is not only informative, but also useful. There should be no question as how to implement the author's strategy and measure your progress. He skillfully addresses asset allocation, and shows how to minimize tax consequences by assigning securities to tax deferred accounts. The author does not dwell on lengthy longwinded discussions but cuts to the quick with useful recommendation and directions for the novice and experienced investor as well. I recommend this book for all investors.

This is definitely one of the best investing books I ever read. What separates this book from the rest is that it TELLS you how to invest. This is not one of those wishy-washy, "really depends on you" type of investing book. The author is 100% confident of his method and tells it as it is. Tons of valuable information that I can't possibly summarize it here. This book along with "The Intelligent Investor" lays the groundwork for Warren Buffet's approach. If it's good enough for him, I think it's safe to say it's good enough for you.