In a market increasingly driven by quarterly headlines, momentum trades, and algorithmic noise, Mario Gabelli and John Rogers are still putting their faith in time, discipline, and deep research. Speaking at the recent Gabelli Omaha Value Investor Conference, the two icons didn’t just honor Warren Buffett—they laid out a clear case for staying patient and thinking decades ahead.
“People are more short-term oriented than ever,” said John Rogers, founder of Ariel Investments. “We still believe that slow and steady wins the race.” He pointed to an industry where too many managers fixate on near-term earnings beats instead of digging into “how the business generates cash flow… and the size of the moat around the company.”
Gabelli echoed that. “That’s not an investor—that’s a day trader,” he quipped about the market’s knee-jerk reactions to news. “We think about how do we create wealth and maintain wealth… buying companies like John just shared with you: what is the intrinsic value, how do they generate cash flow, how do they allocate it?”
Both men emphasized the neglected world of small-cap stocks. “Small value is one of the biggest gaps between large-cap growth when it comes to valuation in history,” Rogers noted. He described the sector as “a fishing pond” Ariel has used since 1986—now filled with “bargain-priced companies that people have fallen out of love with.”
Gabelli warned structural forces are making these opportunities even more compelling. “There’s a company in XYZ Pennsylvania… sells at $15 a share with a $1.16 dividend… book value is 30. Why? It’s not in an ETF. Nobody covers it.” He lamented how Wall Street’s shift away from research and regulation-heavy IPOs has left many quality companies in the shadows.
Beyond valuation, both spoke to the importance of management. “There’s nothing more important than [understanding] how that moat is evolving,” Rogers said. He underscored the value of consistency: “Do they have a plan to win? Are they staying on that plan?”
Looking ahead, Gabelli sees a market shaped by AI, tax awareness, and global insights. “Think about how AI will influence the world… You won’t need John and I except for judgment,” he joked.
But at the end of the day, both investors still look to Buffett. “Warren is the best of the best,” Rogers said. “Keep a belief in that playbook it’ll serve him [Greg] well over the next 20 to 30 years.” Gabelli agreed: “Warren has never changed.”
For these two titans, timeless investing still beats timely trading.
You can watch the entire discussion here:
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