📖Benjamin Graham

Earnings Stability

🌳 Advanced★★★★☆

A track record of uninterrupted dividends over twenty years signals financial strength and management discipline.

💬

A record of continuous dividend payments for at least 20 years is a favorable factor.

— _The Intelligent Investor_，1949

🏠 Everyday Analogy

Just like choosing a time-honored restaurant, a shop that has remained open every single day for 20 years without closure must have a stable customer base and reliable operational capabilities. The same principle applies to investing. A company that has consistently paid dividends for 20 years is like such a century-old establishment, possessing the resilience to weather economic cycles.

📖 Core Interpretation

A consistent record of profitability and dividend payments is a key indicator of a company's quality.
💎 Key Insight：Consistent dividend payments reveal more than just income potential. They demonstrate that a company generates real cash, maintains financial discipline, and prioritizes shareholder returns through all market conditions. A two-decade dividend record is one of the strongest indicators of business durability.

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❓ Why It Matters

A stable historical track record indicates that the company possesses a durable competitive advantage.

🎯 How to Practice

Seek out companies with at least 10 years of earnings growth and 20 consecutive years of dividend payments.

🎙️ Master's Voice

The investor's chief problem—and even his worst enemy—is likely to be himself.
Graham observed that investors hurt themselves through emotional decisions. Their own psychology caused more losses than bad markets.

⚔️ Practical Guide

✅ Decision Checklist

  • Am I my own worst enemy?
  • Are my emotions hurting me?
  • Am I being rational?

📋 Action Steps

  1. Recognize emotional biases
  2. Create rules to follow
  3. Remove emotion from decisions

🚨 Warning Signs

  • Emotional trading
  • Ignoring your rules
  • Self-destructive behavior

⚠️ Common Pitfalls

✕Past performance is not indicative of future results.
✕But history serves as the best reference.

📚 Case Studies

1
Johnson & Johnson Resilient Earnings (2001)
During the 2001 recession, J&J’s diversified healthcare products kept earnings growing steadily despite economic slowdown and market volatility.
✨ Outcome：Maintained or added to holdings, relying on stability of cash flows, which supported rising dividends and long‑term capital appreciation.
2
Procter & Gamble Through Financial Crisis (2008)
In the 2008 global financial crisis, P&G’s consumer staples kept sales and earnings relatively stable versus cyclical companies that saw profits collapse.
✨ Outcome：Continued holding as defensive core position, benefiting from smaller drawdown and solid recovery as earnings and dividends remained consistent.

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