In the short run, the stock market acts like a “voting machine”, while functioning in the long run more like a “weighing machine”. ~ Warren Buffett

Often, in the short term, there is no correlation between the success of a company’s operations and the success of its stock over years.

In the long term, there is a 100% correlation between the success of the company and the success of its stock.

The disparity is the key to successful long-term investing.

Such opportunities arise occasionally because in the short run the stock market acts like a “voting machine” (reflecting all kinds of irrational attitudes and expectations), while functioning in the long run more like a “weighing machine” (reflecting a firm’s true value).