Philip Fisher's research method of gathering qualitative intelligence about a company from customers, competitors, suppliers, and former employees.
“The business "grapevine" is a remarkable thing. It is amazing what an accurate picture of the relative points of strength and weakness of each company in an industry can be obtained from a representative cross-section of the opinions of those who in one way or another are concerned with any particular company. — Philip Fisher”
— Philip Fisher
Deeper Explanation
Fisher coined "scuttlebutt" (a naval term for shipboard gossip) to describe the qualitative due diligence that financial statements cannot provide. Before buying a stock, Fisher would speak to the company's customers: do they repurchase? To competitors: do they fear this company? To suppliers: does this company pay on time, treat suppliers fairly, build deep relationships? To former employees: why did they leave — and what did they observe? The pattern of answers across dozens of conversations reveals whether management truly has the capabilities and culture that create long-term business excellence. This process is time-intensive but is what separates surface analysis from genuine insight.
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