Duan Yongping
Duan Yongping’s Golden Quotes
💡 Essence of Investing
“If there is one sentence that can change an investor’s life, it would probably be ‘buying stocks means buying the company.‘” — Duan Yongping (2010-05-23)
“My understanding of investing boils down to this: buying stocks means buying the company, buying the company means buying the discounted future cash flows of the company, period! This is what I mean by ‘faith’—I believe it from the bottom of my heart and won’t be swayed by any influence.” — Duan Yongping (Investment Logic Chapter)
“The better the business model, the higher the certainty of investing, or put another way, the lower the risk.” — Duan Yongping (2013-04-03)
“Knowing how big your circle of competence is is often far more important than how big your circle of competence actually is!” — Duan Yongping (Investment Logic Chapter)
“I’ve lost hundreds of millions of dollars in investing. Every single loss came from going against Warren Buffett’s teachings. And every big gain I made came from areas I truly understood.” — Duan Yongping (2010-02-04)
“For me, Sohu’s biggest uncertainty seems to lie in its continuous heavy investment in video. Video is a product with very little differentiation—a bunch of wealthy companies competing against each other. The outcome is unlikely to be good.” — Duan Yongping (2012-05-04)
“Enjoying a company’s growth is far better than letting your emotions swing with stock prices.” — Duan Yongping (2017-03-16)
“I think that when we look back in 10 years, Tencent’s earnings (based on my share proportion) should be more than the interest I’d get from keeping money in the bank.” — Duan Yongping (2019-03-16)
🏢 Business & Enterprise
“Old Buffett says the business model is most important. I’ve been thinking about this statement for several years and I’m still thinking about it, but I do feel more and more that Buffett makes sense. That lunch with Old Buffett wasn’t wasted—this one sentence alone was worth a hundred lunches (actually far more)!” — Duan Yongping (2012-06-24)
“Even the best driver finds it hard to drive a broken car well.” — Duan Yongping (2013-04-22)
“A good business model and good corporate culture are what I look for in investments. If there’s also a good price, then it’s perfect.” — Duan Yongping (2015-04-11)
“From a 5-to-10-year perspective, the CEO is crucial. From a 10-to-50-year perspective, the board of directors matters. From an even longer perspective, corporate culture is more important, because a good corporate culture can sustain a good board.” — Duan Yongping (2010-04-03)
“Truly excellent companies that can sustain operations over the long term mostly don’t focus on profits—profits are just a natural result, like having profits chase after you.” — Duan Yongping (2011-01-28)
“Apple is a rare company that can maintain long-term focus on ‘doing the right thing’.” — Duan Yongping (2013-02-13)
“Cook is a better CEO than Jobs. Cook is more rational, while at the same time deeply understanding Jobs’ pursuits from within.” — Duan Yongping (2018-08-07)
“Because I saw the clock.” — Duan Yongping (when asked why he changed his view on Steve Jobs, 2012-03-29)
🧠 Circle of Competence & Cognition
“Understanding a company well is no easier than completing an undergraduate degree.” — Duan Yongping (2019-03-13)
“Don’t casually try to ‘expand’ your circle of competence. Understanding a business often takes many years. Don’t jump into unfamiliar fields or areas just because you’ve seen one or two concepts, or you’ll stumble sooner or later.” — Duan Yongping (Investment Logic Chapter)
“Saying you’re half-Buffett half-Soros really means you understand neither Buffett nor Soros.” — Duan Yongping
“For more than 85% of people, once they understand the simple-but-not-easy principle, the best practical investment strategy is to stay away from the stock market.” — Duan Yongping (2013-09-09)
“Generally speaking, the more you know, the less you earn. Otherwise, university professors teaching this should be earning the most.” — Duan Yongping (Investment Logic Chapter)
“After all these years running a business and since starting to invest, I feel I truly understand no more than 10 companies, and I’ve made big bets on no more than 5—roughly one every two years on average.” — Duan Yongping (2012-06-26)
⚖️ Benfen (Doing What’s Right) & Doing the Right Thing
“Doing the right thing is actually achieved by not doing wrong things—that is, once you discover something is wrong, stop immediately, regardless of the cost, which will usually turn out to be the smallest cost.” — Duan Yongping (2018-07)
“We’ve made it to today not because we’re so outstanding or remarkable, but because we made fewer mistakes than our competitors.” — Duan Yongping (BBK 10th Anniversary)
“Ordinary people can become extraordinary by persistently doing the right things.” — Duan Yongping (2019-05-08)
“Generally speaking, smart people know how to do things right, but wisdom means doing the right things. Speculation is a zero-sum game; investment is betting on profits brought by enterprises.” — Duan Yongping (2015-08-14)
“Dao (the Way) can be learned; skills must be practiced. Dao refers to ‘doing the right thing’ or ‘not doing wrong things’ or ‘discovering mistakes and correcting them immediately—no matter the cost, it will always be the smallest cost.‘” — Duan Yongping (2013-03-24)
🎯 About Buffett
“From the very first minute I saw ‘Buffett,’ I started believing in Buffett and never wavered.” — Duan Yongping (2010-07-04)
“The most important thing to learn from Buffett—and what people can actually learn—is what he doesn’t do! The vast majority of people learn the opposite: what he does. But that cannot be learned because everyone’s circle of competence is different.” — Duan Yongping (2011-10-23)
“Never forget Old Buffett’s teachings: Don’t short, don’t borrow money, don’t invest in what you don’t understand!” — Duan Yongping (2010-05-10)
“The reason why Buffett is ‘Buffett’ is above all his ability to persist in doing the right things—in other words, not making principled mistakes.” — Duan Yongping (Investment Logic Chapter)
“Ha, I also hope that 30 years from now, among the 200 monkeys in China who know how to invest, 50 used to frequently visit this blog.” — Duan Yongping (2010-04-02)
🌱 Life Philosophy
“I’m a very ordinary person doing things anyone can do. The difference between me and them lies in mindset—for example, the desire to get rich quick. They often tell me: ‘Brother Duan, what you say makes a lot of sense, but I need to make money quickly.’ I say: ‘Look, I’m more experienced and capable than you, and even I can only manage this. What makes you think you can do it faster?‘” — Duan Yongping (2007 Southern People Weekly)
“Actually, I’m not willing to get rich slowly either—I just don’t know how to get rich fast.” — Duan Yongping (2019-06-03)
“Huang Zheng is a rare person who consistently focuses on the essence of things. He has insight and intelligence. Whatever he achieves in the future wouldn’t surprise me.” — Duan Yongping (2019-09-09)
“Among Chinese entrepreneurs, Jack Ma is whom I admire most—not one of, but the one.” — Duan Yongping (2013-01-12)
🚫 Stop Doing List
“Many people want to know the secret to building a great company. Actually, the ‘secret’ isn’t what you do but what you don’t do. All good companies have a long ‘Stop Doing List.‘” — Duan Yongping (2016-10-12)
“When I know where I would die, I simply never go there.” — Charlie Munger (Duan Yongping’s favorite quote)
“Shorting is stupid!” — Duan Yongping (2013-03-04)
“Don’t short, don’t use margin—it becomes much harder to die.” — Charlie Munger (quoted by Duan Yongping, 2001)
“‘Stop Doing List’ has no shortcuts—you have to accumulate it yourself, build it up gradually, and realize it through experience. Stop doing means when you discover a mistake, you stop. Over time, the effect becomes obvious.” — Duan Yongping (2018-09-30)
📈 Valuation & Price
“Rough valuation is mainly used to judge downside risk; qualitative analysis is the true source of profit. This may also be the hardest thing in value investing.” — Duan Yongping (2010-04-25)
“It’s better to be approximately right than precisely wrong.” — Warren Buffett (Duan Yongping’s favorite quote)
“My understanding of margin of safety is based on my understanding of the company, not short-term stock price fluctuations. For a great company, sometimes a small price difference won’t matter when looking back 10 years later, but missing a good company because of that small price difference could be a major loss.” — Duan Yongping (2020-10-15)
“If you need to press buttons on a calculator for a long time just to figure out that little bit of profit, it’s better not to invest.” — Duan Yongping (Investment Logic Chapter)
“There is no more absurd reason to buy than ‘because the stock has gone up a lot.‘” — Duan Yongping (2015-06-26)
“I don’t watch the market; I watch businesses. You say a certain stock is expensive—how do you know? Looking from now back at 10 years ago, everything seems expensive.” — Duan Yongping (2018-09-30)
🏆 About Success & Failure
“I remember reporters asking why I had the courage to buy Netease back then. I said: if something worth 10 yuan is being sold to you for 1 yuan with someone crying and begging you to take it, why would you need courage?” — Duan Yongping (2011-05-08)
“We were able to make over 100x on Neteade because I had already developed a deep understanding of games during my Subor days. This kind of understanding isn’t taught in school, isn’t found in books, and doesn’t show up in financial statements.” — Duan Yongping (2010-02-07)
“Generally, stocks that earn dozens or even hundreds of times returns are never discovered through valuation calculations—otherwise there’d be no reason why investors wouldn’t go all-in from the start.” — Duan Yongping (2010-04-25)
“Success definitely has its reasons.” — Duan Yongping (2018-09-30)
“I actually don’t want to get rich slowly either—I just don’t know how to get rich fast.” — Duan Yongping (2019-06-03)
🎓 About Learning & Growth
“The most important investment in life is investing in education.” — Duan Yongping (2010-03-25)
“You can’t learn swimming by reading books—get in the water. Just don’t drown.” — Duan Yongping (2010-02-09)
“There’s nothing much to learn about value investing principles. It all comes down to one sentence: buying stocks means buying the company.” — Duan Yongping (Investment Logic Chapter)
“If someone can truly understand just one opportunity in their lifetime, they’ll likely perform better than 95% of people. Even if they can’t understand any, they can still outperform 80% of people.” — Duan Yongping (2012-04-05)
“Working at Apple for 30 years yields better results than jumping to most startups.” — Duan Yongping (2018-09-30)
💼 About Entrepreneurship & Management
“All our success comes from Benfen + ordinary mindset (Pingchangxin).” — Duan Yongping (2018-09-30)
“Shortcut is the fastest way to get lost.” — Duan Yongping (quoting, 2018-09-30)
“Costco + Disney—this definition is quite interesting, and it’s hard to find a better one.” — Duan Yongping (on Pinduoduo, 2019-04-25)
“Talking about price-performance ratio is just making excuses for yourself.” — Duan Yongping (2018-09-30)
“Dare to follow, but aim to lead among followers.” — Duan Yongping (BBK Management Philosophy)
“Corporate culture consists of Mission, Vision, and Core Values. Mission is why we exist; Vision is where we’re going; Core Values define what’s right and what’s wrong.” — Duan Yongping (2018-09-30)
🤝 About People & Relationships
“Huang Zheng and I have been friends for over 10 years. I know him and I trust him!” — Duan Yongping (2018-09-30)
“Huang Zheng is a rare person with genuine insight whom I know—he focuses on the essence of things.” — Duan Yongping (2018-09-30)
“Old Buffett is a truly good person. He treats people well and sincerely from the heart. He’s wise—no matter how complex the problem, he gets to the essence in just a sentence or two.” — Duan Yongping (2018-09-30)
“Chatting with Buffett helped me enormously—at least it brought me thousands of times the value of that lunch.” — Duan Yongping (2020-10-15)
“You need time to think. You might think for a long time, and then suddenly one day you have an epiphany and realize what’s wrong/right. Many people are busy all day long with no time to think—they may never understand.” — Duan Yongping (2018-09-30)
🌟 About Ordinary Mindset (Pingchangxin)
“Fear is inversely proportional to understanding.” — Duan Yongping (2011-10-25)
“Only things you don’t understand cause fear. If you don’t touch what you don’t understand, there’s nothing to fear.” — Duan Yongping (2011-08-24)
“Maintaining ordinary mindset isn’t difficult because it’s already there (it’s something inside you). Discovering it comes through suffering losses. Without ordinary mindset, as soon as you act irrationally, you’ll stumble.” — Duan Yongping (on ordinary mindset, 2018-09-30)
“Investing is a joyful endeavor. Investors can slowly enjoy the process.” — Duan Yongping (2010-05-20)
“There’s a term in finance called sunk cost. If you truly understand it, you can answer your question.” — Duan Yongping (2013-12-28)
段永平金句集
💡 投资本质
“如果有这么一句话（改变投资者一生的话），可能就是’买股票就是买公司’。” — 段永平（2010-05-23）
“我理解的投资归纳起来就是：买股票就是买公司，买公司就是买公司的未来现金流折现，句号！这就是我说的所谓的信仰的意思，或者说我是从骨子里相信，不会因为任何影响而动摇。” — 段永平（投资逻辑篇）
“生意模式越好，投资的确定性越高或者叫风险越低。” — 段永平（2013-04-03）
“知道自己的能力圈有多大往往比自己能力圈有多大要重要的多！” — 段永平（投资逻辑篇）
“我在投资里亏掉的美金数以亿计，每一笔都是违背老巴教导的情况下亏的，而赚到的大钱也都是在自己真正懂的地方赚的。” — 段永平（2010-02-04）
“对我而言，感觉上搜狐的最大不确定性在其对视频的不断的大力投入。视频是个差异化很小的产品，一堆有钱的公司拼在一起，结局恐怕不太好。” — 段永平（2012-05-04）
“享受公司成长远好过心随股动。” — 段永平（2017-03-16）
“我觉得10年后回过头来看，腾讯赚的钱（我买的份额占的比例）应该比我存银行的利息要多。” — 段永平（2019-03-16）
🏢 商业与企业
“老巴童鞋说生意模式最重要。我自己大概对这句话想了好几年了，还在继续想，但确实越来越感觉到老巴这个说法有道理。和老巴吃顿饭没白吃，这句话就已经值个100顿饭了吧（其实远远不止哈）？” — 段永平（2012-06-24）
“再好的车手也很难开好一辆烂车。” — 段永平（2013-04-22）
“好的商业模式，好的企业文化是我喜欢的投资目标，如果再有好的价钱就完美了。” — 段永平（2015-04-11）
“从5年10年的角度看，CEO至关重要。从10-50年的角度看董事会很重要。从更长的角度看企业文化更重要，因为一个好的企业文化可以维持有一个好的董事会。” — 段永平（2010-04-03）
“真正好的能持续经营的企业大多都不是着眼于利润的，利润不过是水到渠成的结果而已，就是所谓让利润追着自己跑的那种。” — 段永平（2011-01-28）
“苹果是非常难见到的能够长期 focus 在’做对的事情’的企业。” — 段永平（2013-02-13）
“库克是个比乔布斯更好的CEO。库克更理性，同时骨子里对乔布斯的追求非常理解。” — 段永平（2018-08-07）
“因为我看见那个钟了。” — 段永平（被问到为何改变对乔布斯的看法，2012-03-29）
🧠 能力圈与认知
“看懂一家公司不会比读一个本科更容易。” — 段永平（2019-03-13）
“不要轻易去’扩大’自己的能力圈。搞懂一个生意往往是需要很多年的，不要因为看到一两个概念就轻易跳进自己不熟悉的领域或地方，不然早晚会栽的。” — 段永平（投资逻辑篇）
“说自己一半巴菲特一半索罗斯的意思实际上是说自己既不懂巴菲特也不懂索罗斯。” — 段永平
“对85%以上的人而言，懂了简单而不容易的道理后，最好的实战业绩就是远离股市。” — 段永平（2013-09-09）
“一般而言，知道的越多，赚的越少。不然大学教这个的就应该赚的最多。” — 段永平（投资逻辑篇）
“我做企业这么多年，开始投资以来觉得自己大致搞得蛮懂的企业不超过10家，下重手的不超过5家，大概平均两年一家而已。” — 段永平（2012-06-26）
⚖️ 本分与做对的事
“做对的事情实际上是通过不做不正确的事情来实现的，也就是说，一旦发现是不正确的事情，就要马上停止，不管多大的代价往往都会是最小的代价。” — 段永平（2018-07）
“我们能走到今天，并不是因为我们有多优秀，我们有多了不起，而是我们犯的错误比我们的对手更少。” — 段永平（步步高十周年）
“普通人通过坚持做对的事情可以变得很不普通。” — 段永平（2019-05-08）
“一般来讲，聪明人知道如何把事情做对，但有智慧指的是要做对的事情。投机投的是零和游戏，投资投的是企业带来的利润。” — 段永平（2015-08-14）
“道可学，术要练。道指的就是’做对的事情’或者说’不做不对的事情’或者说’发现错了马上改——不管多大的代价都是最小的代价’。” — 段永平（2013-03-24）
🎯 关于巴菲特
“我从看到’巴菲特’第一分钟就开始相信巴菲特了，从来没动摇过。” — 段永平（2010-07-04）
“学巴菲特最重要和人们能够学的东西其实是他不做什么！绝大多数人学的是相反的东西，就是他在做什么，那是没办法学的，因为每个人的能力圈不同。” — 段永平（2011-10-23）
“老巴的教导千万别忘了：不做空，不借钱，不做不懂的东西！” — 段永平（2010-05-10）
“巴菲特之所以是’巴菲特’，最重要的就是他能坚持做正确的事，也就是原则性错误的事不做。” — 段永平（投资逻辑篇）
“哈，我也希望30年后发现全中国会投资的200只猴子里有50只曾经常来这个博客。” — 段永平（2010-04-02）
🌱 人生哲学
“我是个很普通的人，做的事是每个人都能做得到，只是我和他们的心态不同，譬如想快速致富。他们常常会跟我说，阿段你说得很有道理，但是我要尽快赚钱。我说，你看，我比你有经验有能力，我都只能尚且如此，凭什么你就能快点？” — 段永平（2007年南方人物周刊）
“其实我也不愿意慢慢的变富，我只是不知道怎么才能快速变富而已。” — 段永平（2019-06-03）
“黄峥是特别难得一见的一直关注事物本质的人，有悟性，又聪明，未来有任何成就我都不意外。” — 段永平（2019-09-09）
“在中国企业家里，马云是我最佩服的，不是之一。” — 段永平（2013-01-12）
🚫 不为清单（Stop Doing List）
“很多人都希望知道把公司做好的秘诀是什么，其实’秘诀’不是做了什么而是不做什么。好的公司都一定是有一个长长的’Stop doing list’。” — 段永平（2016-10-12）
“当我知道自己会死在哪里时，就永远不去那儿。” — 芒格（段永平最喜欢引用的一句话）
“做空是愚蠢的！” — 段永平（2013-03-04）
“不做空、不 margin，想死就变得较难了。” — 芒格（段永平引用，2001年）
“‘Stop Doing List’没有 shortcut（捷径），要靠自己去积累，去攒，去体悟。stop doing 就是发现错，就要停，时间长了就效果很明显。” — 段永平（2018-09-30）
📈 估值与价格
“大致的估值主要用于判断下行的空间，定性的分析才是真正利润的来源，这也可能是价值投资里最难的东西。” — 段永平（2010-04-25）
“宁要模糊的正确，也不要精确的错误。” — 巴菲特（段永平最喜欢引用）
“我对安全边际的理解是对公司的理解度而不是股票短期的价格波动。对一个伟大公司而言，有时候一点点价格差别10年后看都不是事，但因为差那点价格而错过一个好公司就可能是大事了。” — 段永平（2020-10-15）
“如果需要计算器按半天才能算出来那么一点利润的投资还是不投的好。” — 段永平（投资逻辑篇）
“没有比因为股票涨了很多而买入更荒唐的理由了。” — 段永平（2015-06-26）
“我不看市场，我看生意。你说某只股票贵，how do you know？站在现在看10年前，估计什么都是贵的。” — 段永平（2018-09-30）
🏆 关于成功与失败
“记得以前有记者问为什么当年我那么有勇气买网易，我说10块钱的东西有人一块钱哭着喊着要卖给你，你要勇气干什么？” — 段永平（2011-05-08）
“我们能在网易上赚到100多倍是因为我在做小霸王时就有了很多对游戏的理解，这种理解学校是不会教的，书上也没有，财报里也看不出来。” — 段永平（2010-02-07）
“一般而言，赚到几十倍甚至更多的股票绝不是靠估值估出来的，不然没道理投资人一开始不全盘压上。” — 段永平（2010-04-25）
“成功肯定是有原因的。” — 段永平（2018-09-30）
“我其实也不愿意慢慢的变富，我只是不知道怎么才能快速变富而已。” — 段永平（2019-06-03）
🎓 关于学习与成长
“人生最重要的投资是投资在教育上。” — 段永平（2010-03-25）
“看书学游泳是学不会的，下水吧。不过别淹着了。” — 段永平（2010-02-09）
“价值投资的原则没什么好学的。说来说去就一句话：买股票就是买公司。” — 段永平（投资逻辑篇）
“如果一个人一辈子能看懂一次就可能表现比95%的人好，如果一个都看不懂也可以表现比80%的人好。” — 段永平（2012-04-05）
“在苹果干30年，比跳去大多数创业公司结果都要好。” — 段永平（2018-09-30）
💼 关于创业与经营
“我们所有的成功，都来自于本分+平常心。” — 段永平（2018-09-30）
“shortcut is the fastest way to get lost（捷径是迷路的最快的办法）。” — 段永平引用（2018-09-30）
“Costco + Disney，这个定义有点意思，也很难找到更好的定义了。” — 段永平（谈拼多多，2019-04-25）
“性价比，都是给自己找借口。” — 段永平（2018-09-30）
“敢为天下后，后中争先。” — 段永平（步步高经营哲学）
“企业文化就是Mission、Vision和Core Values。Mission是为什么成立；Vision是我们要去哪里；Core Values是哪些事情是对的，哪些事情是不对的。” — 段永平（2018-09-30）
🤝 关于人与关系
“我和黄峥10多年的朋友了，我了解他，我信任他！” — 段永平（2018-09-30）
“黄峥是我知道的少见的很有悟性的人，他关注事物本质。” — 段永平（2018-09-30）
“老巴是一个很好的人。他是发自内心的对人好对人诚恳。他很睿智，任何复杂的问题，他一两句话就说到本质了。” — 段永平（2018-09-30）
“和巴菲特聊一聊，给了我非常大的帮助，至少给我带来了几千倍午饭的价值。” — 段永平（2020-10-15）
“要有时间想。可能会想很久，有一天突然灵光一现，想明白是错的/对的。很多人一天到晚忙，根本没时间想，可能永远都不会明白。” — 段永平（2018-09-30）
🌟 关于平常心
“恐惧程度和了解程度成反比。” — 段永平（2011-10-25）
“只有不懂的东西才会恐惧，不懂不做就没什么可怕的了。” — 段永平（2011-08-24）
“保持不难，因为它就在那儿（是内心已经有的东西）。发现嘛，靠吃亏。因为没有平常心，一不rational就会栽跟头。” — 段永平（谈平常心，2018-09-30）
“投资是个快乐的事情，投资人可以慢慢享受其过程。” — 段永平（2010-05-20）
“财务上有个名词叫沉入成本，如果你真懂了，你就能解答你的问题。” — 段永平（2013-12-28）