These Investors Earned 20% to 33% Returns Using The Same Philosophy on Completely Different Stocks

Markel (MKL) crushed Q4 2025 EPS estimates with $48.75 versus $25.73, compounding a 33% three-year return via the same insurance-float model as Berkshire.

American Express (AXP) beat Q1 EPS by 7%, while Berkshire (BRK-B) compounded 237% over ten years, both built on durable brands with pricing power.

Graham's Columbia students earned 20% to 33% annually with completely different portfolios, proving the philosophy is portable and the research must be your own.

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The Investing for Beginners Podcast recently revisited one of the most influential ideas in modern finance. That was Benjamin Graham's concept of buying with a margin of safety. In fact, according to host Andrew Sather, Graham's Columbia students went on to compound capital at extraordinary rates using the same principles applied to wildly different portfolios. Walter Schloss earned 21% a year. Tweedy Brown earned 20% a year. Warren Buffett earned close to 30% a year.  Sequoia Fund earned 18% a year. Charlie Munger earned 20% a year. Rick Guerin earned 33% a year over 18 years.

The takeaway for individual investors is that the philosophy travels even when the stocks do not overlap. Two living practitioners make that case clearly today: Warren Buffett at Berkshire and Tom Gayner at Markel.

Berkshire Hathaway ( NYSE: BRK-B ) trades at roughly 14 trailing earnings and a 1.4 price-to-book ratio, with a 10.5% return on equity and a 19.3% profit margin. The stock has compounded 236.81% over the past ten years, even after a 5.43% year-to-date pullback.

The equity portfolio reads like a Graham syllabus written in consumer brands and franchises. Coca-Cola ( NYSE: KO ) just posted Q1 2026 EPS of $0.86 against an $0.81 estimate with 12.1% revenue growth to $12.47 billion and a 43.4% return on equity. American Express ( NYSE: AXP ) delivered EPS of $4.28 versus $3.99 expected, with billed business of $428.0 billion, up 10% year over year. Johnson & Johnson ( NYSE: JNJ ) raised its dividend 3.1% to $1.34 per quarter, extending a 64-year streak, and reported $24.06 billion in Q1 2026 revenue. JNJ shares have gained 48.18% over the past year.