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What Aswath Damodaran thinks about investing

@aswath-damodaran · 15 positions · 0 changes of mind

Professor of finance at NYU’s Stern School of Business, known for his work on valuation. Publishes his valuations, spreadsheets and data openly at Musings on Markets, and revises them in public when the numbers move against him.

Everything they publish, on ppll ↗

Aswath Damodaran did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

8 dated positions, 2025 to 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Aswath Damodaran has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingApplying scale-first, profit-later to every business is a cookbook that turns small failures into big ones.

    Their wordsAny investor or founder who blindly follows the pathway of scaling first and profiting later for every business is using a cookbook approach to business building, and runs the risk of making small failures into big ones.

    ↗The Scaling and Profitability Trade off: Venture Capital’s Weakest Link!aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com 1st of 5 in this piece

    Interesting

  3. Our readingThe median venture capitalist has produced no more excess return than the median mutual-fund or private-equity manager.

    Their wordsthe median venture capitalist has not been much better at harvesting alpha than the median mutual fund manager or PE investor

    ↗The Scaling and Profitability Trade off: Venture Capital’s Weakest Link!aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com 3rd of 5 in this piece

    Interesting

  5. Our readingThe pull of fundamentals that used to reverse market momentum has weakened, so betting on mean reversion is more dangerous than it was.

    Their wordsthere is evidence that the reversal effect has weakened over time, leaving investors who bet on mean reversion and a return to fundamentals in the lurch

    ↗The Scaling and Profitability Trade off: Venture Capital’s Weakest Link!aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com 4th of 5 in this piece

    Interesting
  6. 2 months earlier

  7. Our readingActive investing collectively drags down portfolio returns, and the evidence leaves almost no counter-argument.

    Their wordsthere is almost no counter to the argument that active investing collectively creates a drag on portfolio performance

    ↗SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic: The S&P 500 Inclusion Question and Investment Consequences!aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com 1st of 3 in this piece

    Interesting

  9. Our readingMost active investors are not hunting for information; they are betting on mean reversion in data everyone already has.

    Their wordsMuch of active investing is built around publicly available information and a belief in the power of mean reversion, not original research and seeking information.

    ↗SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic: The S&P 500 Inclusion Question and Investment Consequences!aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com 2nd of 3 in this piece

    Interesting

  11. Our readingThe claim that passive investing has made markets less efficient is overwrought.

    Their wordsDoomsday stories about how passive investing is making markets less efficient and less inclined to reflect fundamentals strike me as overwrought

    ↗SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic: The S&P 500 Inclusion Question and Investment Consequences!aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com 3rd of 3 in this piece

    Interesting
  12. 6 months earlier

  13. Our readingInvestors in the largest tech companies have voluntarily surrendered their governance rights, leaving founders with unchecked power.

    Their wordsinvestors at many tech companies, including most on the large cap list, have given up their corporate governance rights, often voluntarily (through the acceptance of shares with different voting rights), to founders and top management in these companies

    ↗Trillion Dollar Market Caps: Fairy Tale Pricing or Business Marvels?aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com 2nd of 4 in this piece

    startups

    Interesting

  15. Our readingA company priced in the trillions is not thereby overpriced; the test is what revenues and margins that price actually requires.

    Their wordsIf you are an investor who considers any highly priced company to be overvalued, I hope that this post leads you to reconsider.

    ↗Trillion Dollar Market Caps: Fairy Tale Pricing or Business Marvels?aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com 3rd of 4 in this piece

    Interesting