The Ones I Saw And Missed

“An investor who always regrets his mistakes is like a person who repents about every girl he saw but did not marry!” – Basant Maheshwari

This section discusses the author's regrets about stocks he saw but did not buy, and how an average investor will always have more misses than hits, but what matters is how much he makes from his hits rather than how much he does not make from his misses.

Lesson from United Spirits: Even if the stock increased 50 times, Basant would not invest in a company with questionable management.

Lesson from Nagarjuna Construction: Just because a stock has risen by 15% does not mean it cannot rise any further.

Lesson from Aban Offshore: Buying a mediocre business with a lot of tailwinds is preferable to buying a great business with a lot of headwinds.

Lesson from Bharti Airtel: If there is a problem, such as the company not being profitable, you could enter when the company becomes profitable. It is never too late to buy or sell a good stock.

Lesson from Kaveri Seeds: If the financials are good, the company is debt-free, has a high ROCE, and promises average growth, one can buy a small amount of shares without trying to understand everything about the company.

A debt-free company with a high ROCE is the first sign of a solid business model. 

A person learns more about a company after purchasing stock than he does before purchasing stock. One should not be concerned about missing an opportunity because if one passes, the next one will arrive sooner than expected.