What does the below Benjamin Graham quote mean?
A stock is not just a ticker symbol or an electronic blip; it is an ownership interest in an actual business, with an underlying value that does not depend on its share price.
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Sign up to join this communityWhat does the below Benjamin Graham quote mean?
A stock is not just a ticker symbol or an electronic blip; it is an ownership interest in an actual business, with an underlying value that does not depend on its share price.
In addition to what @FumbleFingers said (that it's not just numbers, you are obtaining a piece of the company when you obtain stock), it should be noted this is a controversial definition of value. Based on the efficient market hypothesis the stocks' trading price should take into account all available information and represent the "value" of the company. This is why actual examples of people beating the market in the long run are near non-existent. Of course there are lots of people with an interest in selling you on the idea that you can, because convincing you to go with an actively managed fund makes them more money than funds that just peg to the S & P or whatever.
To be fair to Graham, he was around during a time when computers weren't pricing in information within a millisecond of the information coming out.