A Lesson From History

Coke went public in 1919 at $40 per share. By the end of 1920, the market coldly re-evaluated Coke's future prospects, which battered the stock down by more than 50%. At year-end 1993, that single share, with dividends reinvested, was worth more than $2.1 million. As Ben Graham said: "In the short-run, the market is a voting machine - reflecting a voter-registration test that does not require intelligence or stability - in the long-run, the market is a weighing machine."

Warren Buffett - The Chairman's Letter 1993