Carol Loomis Quotes

Powerful Carol Loomis for Daily Growth

About Carol Loomis

Carol Loomis (born June 6, 1928) is an American journalist, editor, and author, best known for her long tenure with Fortune magazine and her influential work in the field of business journalism. Loomis was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio. She graduated from Smith College in 1949 and then worked briefly as a teacher before joining Fortune as an editorial assistant in 1950. Over the next six decades, she climbed the ranks at the magazine, becoming an editor in 1962 and serving as its executive editor from 1971 to 1983. Throughout her career at Fortune, Loomis covered a wide range of topics but developed a particular expertise in the field of finance. She wrote numerous influential articles on business leaders and companies, including several groundbreaking pieces on Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. Her interviews with Buffett have become legendary, providing insights into the mind of one of the most successful investors in history. In addition to her work at Fortune, Loomis has authored or co-authored several books, including "Tap Dancing to Work: WarrenBuffett on Practically Everything, 1966-2012" (2013) and "Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist" (2004). She has also been a frequent guest on television programs such as "60 Minutes" and "Squawk Box." Loomis' work has earned her numerous accolades, including the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism and the Yale University George S. Eccles Prize for lifetime achievement in business journalism. She continues to write and speak on business topics today. Throughout her career, Loomis has been known for her sharp intellect, relentless curiosity, and ability to ask tough questions. Her work has had a profound impact on the field of business journalism and continues to influence generations of reporters and investors.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Investing is not a game against the other guy, it's a battle against the other guys time frame."

This quote emphasizes that investing is not about outperforming others in the short term, but rather about having a longer-term perspective. It suggests that success in investing lies in being able to stay invested for a longer period than others, which allows for compounding of returns and increases the chances of achieving one's financial goals. This quote encourages patience, discipline, and a long-term mindset when it comes to making investment decisions.


"The best time to invest was yesterday; the second-best time is today."

This quote emphasizes that investing, like many worthwhile endeavors, is most effective when started promptly. The ideal moment for investment has already passed (yesterday), but the next best opportunity is now - today. It underscores the importance of taking action as soon as possible when it comes to financial investments, as delaying could potentially result in missing out on potential growth or returns.


"Buy stocks for the dividends they pay, not for their price-earnings ratio."

This quote by Carol Loomis emphasizes the importance of income-focused investing over growth investing, especially in the context of stock selection. Investors should prioritize purchasing stocks based on the dividends (regular payments of a portion of a company's earnings) they pay rather than focusing solely on their price-earnings ratio (P/E ratio), which measures the stock's price relative to its earnings per share. This strategy can lead to a more stable and consistent return, making it an attractive choice for investors who seek income generation rather than rapid capital appreciation.


"There are only two times when a smart person should buy or sell: when he needs to, or when no one else wants to."

This quote suggests that wise financial decisions should ideally be based on personal need rather than impulse or market trend. It emphasizes the importance of making informed decisions, especially in times when others are reluctant to invest or sell, possibly indicating undervalued opportunities.


"Investing is all about the future; you're really paying for tomorrow's earnings today."

This quote emphasizes that investing, in essence, involves anticipating and purchasing assets whose returns (earnings) are expected to be realized in the future. The money paid out now is considered an investment, with the expectation of receiving a greater return or value in the future. It underscores the idea that investors look forward in time to profit from their investments, making informed decisions based on future prospects and expectations.


When they are employed wisely, derivatives make the world simpler because they give their buyers an ability to manage and transfer risk.

- Carol Loomis

Give, Buyers, Employed, Simpler

In the 1987 stock market crash, according to the conclusions of the official Brady report, colossal sales of stock index futures by so-called portfolio insurers - whose investment strategies depended entirely on these derivatives - greatly exacerbated the 500-point market decline.

- Carol Loomis

Sales, According, Official, Conclusions

Throughout his remarkable business and government career, Robert Rubin, now 65, has both worked exhaustively at reaching well-founded conclusions and rejected the idea that anything - and he means anything - can be a 'provable certainty.'

- Carol Loomis

Business, Career, Means, Conclusions

The speed and trajectory of BlackRock's ascent have been breathtaking.

- Carol Loomis

Been, Ascent, Breathtaking, Trajectory

In general, the hedge funds were clobbered by the 1969 bear market, ending up in many cases with records that were worse than those put together by aggressive mutual funds denied the luxury of short sales.

- Carol Loomis

Records, Hedge, Put, Aggressive

Approaches to determining stock values vary, but fundamentally, each company judging itself undervalued is saying that its future stream of earnings justifies a higher price than the stock market is willing to accord it.

- Carol Loomis

Values, Vary, Willing, Accord

Larry Fink, 61, tall and outgoing and passionate about his business, is the chairman, CEO, and co-founder of the largest asset-management company in the world, BlackRock.

- Carol Loomis

Business, Outgoing, Largest, Larry

There is a certain oddity to Larry Fink having problems in Washington. He is a strong Democrat who has close ties to President Obama and has often been rumored as set to take a big administration job, such as Secretary of the Treasury.

- Carol Loomis

Strong, Big, Been, Larry

By late 1953, going to New York on vacation, I had lined up several Time Inc. interviews - and what they did was give me a lifelong appreciation of the importance of luck in getting a job.

- Carol Loomis

Luck, Importance, Lifelong, Lined

Limited partnerships are required to amend their filings whenever important changes, such as the admission of new partners, take place.

- Carol Loomis

Changes, New, Limited, Amend

The goal of the program, called Giving With Purpose, is to teach college students - and anyone else who cares to register - how to beneficially contribute to charity. That's not necessarily easy. There are IRS rules for giving that must be learned, and there is wayward, wasteful philanthropy to be avoided.

- Carol Loomis

Purpose, College, Contribute, IRS

If a company's stock is undervalued - as many managers believe theirs is - a repurchase may offer the best payoff of all.

- Carol Loomis

Best, May, Payoff, Undervalued

Every regulatory speech on derivatives takes a bow to their hedging 'benefits.' Less publicly, regulators pay their respects to derivative profits, a blessed relief from the banks' troubled loans to less-developed countries, highly leveraged companies, and real estate swingers.

- Carol Loomis

Benefits, Bow, Regulatory, Relief

In meeting the challenges of organic growth, BlackRock has the advantage of having an executive team greatly respected for what it has accomplished.

- Carol Loomis

Executive, Having, Organic

Some managements do not even think of buybacks as an option. The idea of shrinking their equity base repels them. Their inclination instead is to get bigger, and this often leads them to pay rich prices for acquisitions that never earn their keep.

- Carol Loomis

Equity, Some, Idea, Base

It is the instinctive wish of most American businesspeople, even those unlikely to be directly affected, that General Motors not go bankrupt.

- Carol Loomis

American, Go, Unlikely, Businesspeople

On the rare occasions when my family talked about business, the subject was Kansas City's Boss Pendergast and his potential for muscling my dad's small gravel-and-sand operation.

- Carol Loomis

Business, Boss, Small, Kansas

I will confess that almost all my inspiration has come from one emotion: fear. And terrible dread of the moment when I will finally be exposed as a fraud.

- Carol Loomis

Will, Almost All, Almost, Exposed

In 1980, aided by $1.5 billion in loan guarantees from the U.S. government and his own pitchman routines on television, Lee Iacocca brought Chrysler back from the abyss.

- Carol Loomis

Television, Loan, Brought, Aided

Wage concessions are difficult to quantify, since their magnitude depends on many operating variables.

- Carol Loomis

Depends, Variables, Quantify, Operating

The 1969 experience has been a rude awakening for many hedge-fund investors and has left some of them with strong reservations about the whole concept. For the first time in their relatively short history, the funds are not growing: in fact, some have suffered large withdrawals of capital, and a few have actually folded.

- Carol Loomis

Strong, Some, Been, Reservations

The good thing about a dealer's derivatives portfolio is that it is marked to market.

- Carol Loomis

Market, Marked, Derivatives, Dealer

From the minute I got to 'Fortune,' I loved my job. I knew myself to be a virtual dunce about business, and I was wide-eyed about how much I was learning.

- Carol Loomis

Business, Fortune, Virtual, Dunce

The options and futures traded on exchanges are derivatives contracts.

- Carol Loomis

Traded, Derivatives, Options

A buyback is itself a special kind of acquisition, made at prices that are typically a bargain compared with those a company must pay for an outside purchase.

- Carol Loomis

Kind, Made, Purchase, Bargain

The 'Fortune' I came to work for on Jan. 25, 1954, was a monthly, with pages significantly larger than what you're reading; 'art' covers that did not relate to stories inside; and a newsstand price of $1.25.

- Carol Loomis

Art, Fortune, Larger, Monthly

Carl Icahn, corporate raider by trade, is creative, a scrambler, and certainly not to be underestimated.

- Carol Loomis

Trade, Corporate, Certainly, Raider

I have never met a document I don't like.

- Carol Loomis

Never, Like, Met, Document

I didn't want to be a 'Fortune' writer who was constrained in any way.

- Carol Loomis

Want, Fortune, Writer, Constrained

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