📈 Investing & Wealth Building
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits
Philip A. Fisher
Applica Finance · Book Notes
📈 Investing & Wealth Building

Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits

by Philip A. Fisher

📅 1958 📈 Investing & Wealth Building 📖 320 pages ⏱ 9.1h read

The growth-investing classic behind Warren Buffett's 'scuttlebutt' method.

Read the summary ↓

Summary — what Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits is about

Philip Fisher pioneered growth investing: buying outstanding companies with strong management and durable competitive advantages, then holding them for the long term. His influence on Warren Buffett is widely acknowledged.

He introduces the 'scuttlebutt' method — gathering insight by talking to customers, competitors and employees — and his famous fifteen points for evaluating a company's quality and prospects.

Key lessons & takeaways

  • Buy outstanding businesses, not just cheap ones.
  • Great management and R&D create durable advantages.
  • Use 'scuttlebutt' — real-world research beyond the numbers.
  • Hold winners for the long term; sell rarely.
  • Focus on future earning power, not today's price alone.

Chapter-by-chapter / section outline

  1. 1What 'Scuttlebutt' Can Do
  2. 2What to Buy — the Fifteen Points to Look For
  3. 3What to Buy — applying to your own needs
  4. 4When to Buy
  5. 5When to Sell — and when not to
  6. 6The Hullabaloo About Dividends
  7. 7Five Don'ts for Investors
  8. 8How to Find a Growth Stock

Who should read this book

  • Investors interested in quality and growth, not just value.
  • Anyone who wants to research companies deeply.
  • Readers tracing the roots of Buffett's philosophy.

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About these notes: This is an original educational summary written by Applica Finance to help you decide what to read and remember the core ideas. It is not a reproduction of the book. If the ideas resonate, please support the author by buying the full book.