---
title: "8 Earning Quotes By Benjamin Graham"
description: "8 Earning quotes by Benjamin Graham. Plus more from Benjamin Graham and more Earning sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/benjamin-graham-1531_assuming_observation-over-many-years-has-taught-u_179597.jpg"
---

> [Observation over many years has taught us that the chief losses to investors come from the purchase of low-quality securities at times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/observation-over-many-years-has-taught-us-that-the-chief-losses-to/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/benjamin-graham-1531_assuming_observation-over-many-years-has-taught-u_179597.jpg)

> [The only thing you should do with pro forma earnings is ignore them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-only-thing-you-should-do-with-pro-forma-earnings-is-ignore-them/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c34/benjamin-graham-1531_earning_the-only-thing-you-should-do-with-pro-fo_672446.jpg)

> [Real investment risk is measured not by the percent that a stock may decline in price in relation to the general market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/real-investment-risk-is-measured-not-by-the-percent-that-a-stock-may/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00e/benjamin-graham-1531_danger_real-investment-risk-is-measured-not-by_1067799.jpg)

> [Calculate a stock's price/earnings ratio yourself, using Graham's formula of current price divided by average earnings over the past three years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/calculate-a-stock-s-price-earnings-ratio-yourself-using-graham-s/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/benjamin-graham-1531_average_calculate-a-stock-s-price-earnings-ratio_1275037.jpg)

> [It's nonsensical to derive a price/earnings ratio by dividing the known current price by unknown future earnings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/it-s-nonsensical-to-derive-a-price-earnings-ratio-by-dividing-the/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f3/benjamin-graham-1531_currents_it-s-nonsensical-to-derive-a-price-earni_1337757.jpg)

> [To see how much a company is truly earning on the capital it deploys in its businesses, look beyond EPS to Return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/to-see-how-much-a-company-is-truly-earning-on-the-capital-it-deploys/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed9/benjamin-graham-1531_business_to-see-how-much-a-company-is-truly-earni_1403840.jpg)

> [In most cases the favorable price performance will be accompanied by a well-defined improvement in the average earnings, in the dividend, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/in-most-cases-the-favorable-price-performance-will-be-accompanied-by/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f0/benjamin-graham-1531_average_in-most-cases-the-favorable-price-perfor_2126734.jpg)

> [When somebody asserts that a stock has an earning power of so much, I am sure that the person who hears him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/when-somebody-asserts-that-a-stock-has-an-earning-power-of-so-much-i/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ec/benjamin-graham-1531_chance_when-somebody-asserts-that-a-stock-has-a_2161171.jpg)

## Other authors on Earning

## More by Benjamin Graham

> [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [There is something paradoxical in the fact that by establishing an export market we subject our entire domestic production to the vagaries of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/there-is-something-paradoxical-in-the-fact-that-by-establishing-an/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [Those with the enterprise lack the money and those with the money lack the enterprise to buy stocks when they are cheap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/those-with-the-enterprise-lack-the-money-and-those-with-the-money/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [It must be fundamentally wrong to reduce production of food and fiber while one-third of our population is still ill fed and ill clothed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/it-must-be-fundamentally-wrong-to-reduce-production-of-food-and-fiber/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [The intelligent investor is a realist who sells to optimists and buys from pessimists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-intelligent-investor-is-a-realist-who-sells-to-optimists-and-buys/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [Intelligent investment is more a matter of mental approach than it is of technique. A sound mental approach toward stock fluctuations is the touchstone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/intelligent-investment-is-more-a-matter-of-mental-approach-than-it-is/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [Many progressive economists insist that gold is now in essentially the same position as silver and that the arguments the simon-pure gold advocates use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/many-progressive-economists-insist-that-gold-is-now-in-essentially/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [The art of investment has one characteristic that is not generally appreciated. A creditable, if unspectacular, result can be achieved by the lay investor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-art-of-investment-has-one-characteristic-that-is-not-generally/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [We have not known a single person who has consistently or lastingly make money by thus "following the market". We do not hesitate to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/we-have-not-known-a-single-person-who-has-consistently-or-lastingly/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [The essence of investment management is the management of risks, not the management of returns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-essence-of-investment-management-is-the-management-of-risks-not/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [Wall Street people learn nothing and forget everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/wall-street-people-learn-nothing-and-forget-everything/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [In security analysis the prime stress is laid upon protection against untoward events. We obtain this protection by insisting upon margins of safety, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/in-security-analysis-the-prime-stress-is-laid-upon-protection-against/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [Never buy a stock immediately after a substantial rise or sell one immediately after a substantial drop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/never-buy-a-stock-immediately-after-a-substantial-rise-or-sell-one/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [Observation over many years has taught us that the chief losses to investors come from the purchase of low-quality securities at times of good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/observation-over-many-years-has-taught-us-that-the-chief-losses-to/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [No matter how careful you are, the one risk no investor can ever eliminate is the risk of being wrong. Only by insisting on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/no-matter-how-careful-you-are-the-one-risk-no-investor-can-ever/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earning/benjamin-graham/#itemlist",
            "name": "8 Earning Quotes By Benjamin Graham",
            "numberOfItems": 8,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Observation over many years has taught us that the chief losses to investors come from the purchase of low-quality securities at times of good business conditions. The purchasers view the good current earnings as equivalent to 'earning power' and assume that prosperity is equivalent to safety.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Benjamin Graham"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/observation-over-many-years-has-taught-us-that-the-chief-losses-to/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/benjamin-graham-1531_assuming_observation-over-many-years-has-taught-u_179597.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/benjamin-graham-1531_assuming_observation-over-many-years-has-taught-u_179597.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/benjamin-graham-1531_assuming_observation-over-many-years-has-taught-u_179597.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Observation over many years has taught us that the chief losses to investors come from the purchase of…” — Benjamin Graham",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The only thing you should do with pro forma earnings is ignore them.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Benjamin Graham"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-only-thing-you-should-do-with-pro-forma-earnings-is-ignore-them/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c34/benjamin-graham-1531_earning_the-only-thing-you-should-do-with-pro-fo_672446.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c34/benjamin-graham-1531_earning_the-only-thing-you-should-do-with-pro-fo_672446.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c34/benjamin-graham-1531_earning_the-only-thing-you-should-do-with-pro-fo_672446.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The only thing you should do with pro forma earnings is ignore them.” — Benjamin Graham",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Real investment risk is measured not by the percent that a stock may decline in price in relation to the general market in a given period, but by the danger of a loss of quality and earnings power through economic changes or deterioration in management.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Benjamin Graham"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/real-investment-risk-is-measured-not-by-the-percent-that-a-stock-may/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00e/benjamin-graham-1531_danger_real-investment-risk-is-measured-not-by_1067799.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00e/benjamin-graham-1531_danger_real-investment-risk-is-measured-not-by_1067799.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00e/benjamin-graham-1531_danger_real-investment-risk-is-measured-not-by_1067799.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Real investment risk is measured not by the percent that a stock may decline in price in relation to the…” — Benjamin Graham",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Calculate a stock's price/earnings ratio yourself, using Graham's formula of current price divided by average earnings over the past three years.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Benjamin Graham"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/calculate-a-stock-s-price-earnings-ratio-yourself-using-graham-s/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/benjamin-graham-1531_average_calculate-a-stock-s-price-earnings-ratio_1275037.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/benjamin-graham-1531_average_calculate-a-stock-s-price-earnings-ratio_1275037.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/benjamin-graham-1531_average_calculate-a-stock-s-price-earnings-ratio_1275037.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Calculate a stock's price/earnings ratio yourself, using Graham's formula of current price divided by…” — Benjamin Graham",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "It's nonsensical to derive a price/earnings ratio by dividing the known current price by unknown future earnings.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Benjamin Graham"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/it-s-nonsensical-to-derive-a-price-earnings-ratio-by-dividing-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f3/benjamin-graham-1531_currents_it-s-nonsensical-to-derive-a-price-earni_1337757.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f3/benjamin-graham-1531_currents_it-s-nonsensical-to-derive-a-price-earni_1337757.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f3/benjamin-graham-1531_currents_it-s-nonsensical-to-derive-a-price-earni_1337757.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“It's nonsensical to derive a price/earnings ratio by dividing the known current price by unknown future…” — Benjamin Graham",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 6,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "To see how much a company is truly earning on the capital it deploys in its businesses, look beyond EPS to Return on Invested Capital (ROIC).",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Benjamin Graham"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/to-see-how-much-a-company-is-truly-earning-on-the-capital-it-deploys/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed9/benjamin-graham-1531_business_to-see-how-much-a-company-is-truly-earni_1403840.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed9/benjamin-graham-1531_business_to-see-how-much-a-company-is-truly-earni_1403840.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed9/benjamin-graham-1531_business_to-see-how-much-a-company-is-truly-earni_1403840.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“To see how much a company is truly earning on the capital it deploys in its businesses, look beyond EPS to…” — Benjamin Graham",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 7,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "In most cases the favorable price performance will be accompanied by a well-defined improvement in the average earnings, in the dividend, and in the balance-sheet position. Thus in the long run the market test and the ordinary business test of a successful equity commitment tend to be largely identical.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Benjamin Graham"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/in-most-cases-the-favorable-price-performance-will-be-accompanied-by/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f0/benjamin-graham-1531_average_in-most-cases-the-favorable-price-perfor_2126734.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f0/benjamin-graham-1531_average_in-most-cases-the-favorable-price-perfor_2126734.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f0/benjamin-graham-1531_average_in-most-cases-the-favorable-price-perfor_2126734.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“In most cases the favorable price performance will be accompanied by a well-defined improvement in the…” — Benjamin Graham",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 8,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "When somebody asserts that a stock has an earning power of so much, I am sure that the person who hears him doesn't know what he means, and there is a good chance that the man who uses it doesn't know what it means.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Benjamin Graham"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/when-somebody-asserts-that-a-stock-has-an-earning-power-of-so-much-i/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ec/benjamin-graham-1531_chance_when-somebody-asserts-that-a-stock-has-a_2161171.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ec/benjamin-graham-1531_chance_when-somebody-asserts-that-a-stock-has-a_2161171.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ec/benjamin-graham-1531_chance_when-somebody-asserts-that-a-stock-has-a_2161171.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“When somebody asserts that a stock has an earning power of so much, I am sure that the person who hears him…” — Benjamin Graham",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earning/benjamin-graham/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earning/benjamin-graham/",
            "name": "Earning Quotes by Benjamin Graham",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earning/benjamin-graham/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/benjamin-graham-1531_assuming_observation-over-many-years-has-taught-u_179597.jpg"
            },
            "description": "8 Earning quotes by Benjamin Graham. Plus more from Benjamin Graham and more Earning sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earning/benjamin-graham/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earning/benjamin-graham/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Earning",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earning/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Benjamin Graham",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earning/benjamin-graham/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
