📖Peter Lynch

Growth at Reasonable Price

🌿 Intermediate★★★★★

Use the PEG ratio to find fairly valued growth stocks.

💬

The P/E ratio of any company that's fairly priced will equal its growth rate. If the P/E is lower than the growth rate, you may have found yourself a bargain.

— *One Up On Wall Street*,1989

🏠 Everyday Analogy

Valuation is like buying a house: the asking price reflects mood, but true value comes from structure, location, and long-term utility. Good assets still need sensible prices.

📖 Core Interpretation

In Growth at Reasonable Price, Peter Lynch focuses on the gap between price and value. Returns come from paying less than what a business is worth, not from guessing short-term market moves.
💎 Key Insight:PEG ratio below 1 signals potential undervaluation.

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❓ Why It Matters

Ignoring valuation turns even good companies into poor investments. Overpaying compresses future returns and leaves little margin when assumptions are wrong.

🎯 How to Practice

Estimate intrinsic value with conservative assumptions, set clear buy ranges, and act only when price offers a meaningful discount with acceptable downside.

⚠️ Common Pitfalls

Confusing a low price with true cheapness
Using one metric without business context
Overly optimistic assumptions that erase margin of safety

📚 Case Studies

1
Walmart Expansion Patience (1990)
An investor bought Walmart in late 1980s; growth slowed and the stock stagnated around 1990, tempting them to sell.
✨ Outcome:Following Lynch’s ‘be patient’ advice, they held; over the 1990s, earnings and store count surged, producing multi-bagger returns.
2
McDonald’s Turnaround Patience (2002)
McDonald’s stock slumped in 2002 amid operational issues and health concerns, leading many investors to abandon the stock.
✨ Outcome:A patient investor, focusing on fundamentals and brand strength, held through the downturn and benefited as the company restructured and the stock more than recovered.

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