Graham declares the book will not teach readers how to get rich quickly and that no easy paths to wealth exist on Wall Street.

Graham uses John J. Raskob's 1929 article to debunk promises of easy wealth and illustrate the value of regular investing.

Graham introduces two investor types — defensive and enterprising — defined by how much time they are willing to devote to investing.

Graham defines investment as requiring thorough analysis and safety of principal, formally separating it from speculation.

Graham advises the defensive investor to split their portfolio equally between stocks and bonds as the safest approach.

Graham argues that common stocks are not a reliable hedge against inflation and warns against building an all-stock portfolio.

Graham reviews a century of stock market history, showing long-term growth punctuated by major boom-and-bust cycles.

Graham identifies rising price-to-earnings ratios and overheated market conditions as warning signs of difficult times ahead for investors.

Graham introduces the concept of Mr. Market, a fictional character representing the stock market's irrational, emotion-driven behavior.

Graham argues that the intelligent investor should focus on analyzing price relative to value rather than attempting to time the market.

Graham presents seven criteria for defensive investors to select value stocks, including company size, dividend history, and price-to-earnings limits.

Graham analyzes the Penn Central bankruptcy and argues that basic security analysis could have revealed its fundamental weakness long before collapse.

Graham compares eight pairs of similarly named companies to show how the market frequently misprices securities of different underlying quality.

Graham concludes that decades of shareholder activism proved futile and turns his attention to the effects of corporate dividend policy.

Graham distills his entire investment philosophy into the three-word motto MARGIN OF SAFETY as the central concept of intelligent investing.

Graham opens by rejecting get-rich-quick thinking and drawing a clear line between investing and speculation. He introduces the defensive and enterprising investor types before laying out his core recommendation of a balanced stock-and-bond portfolio. After reviewing a century of market history and warning of overvalued conditions, he introduces Mr. Market as a guide to understanding irrational market behavior. Graham then presents concrete stock selection criteria for the defensive investor before grounding his ideas in real company case studies and pair comparisons. The book concludes with the margin of safety declared as the single most important principle an intelligent investor can follow.

The main arc of Graham's investment philosophy from start to finish.

Graham refutes the strategy of investing in high-growth industries, using airlines as a cautionary example of expected growth leading to major losses.

Graham describes dollar-cost averaging as a disciplined technique of investing a fixed dollar amount at regular intervals regardless of market conditions.

Graham warns that the defensive investor's 50-50 stock-bond split should never skew beyond a 25-75 ratio in either direction.

Graham explains that government bonds are the most secure fixed-income option, backed by the government's power to tax and issue currency.

Graham criticizes preferred stocks as an inherently bad investment form because of their lower priority in dividend payments and liquidation rights.

Graham lays out four rules for defensive investors selecting common stocks, emphasizing adequate diversification and strict price limits.

Graham redefines investment risk not as short-term price decline but as the permanent loss of capital caused by overpaying for a stock.

Graham advises the enterprising investor to avoid preferred stocks, low-grade bonds, foreign bonds, and initial public offerings as unsuitable investments.

Graham describes the bargain issue strategy for enterprising investors and cites Chrysler as an example of a successful undervalued stock turnaround.

Graham examines ten large mutual funds and finds their overall performance roughly matches the broader market rather than consistently beating it.

Graham addresses the phenomenon of performance funds that actively manage portfolios to outperform the market through increasingly speculative strategies.

Graham analyzes the ALCOA earnings report and exposes the company's questionable use of special charges to obscure its true financial performance.

Graham explains how companies issuing stock options and convertible securities increase the share count, diluting earnings per share and distorting financial results.

Graham compares ELTRA, Emerson Electric, Emery Air Freight, and Emhart to illustrate a wide variety of stock valuations and investment quality.

Graham advises caution toward convertible bonds and invokes the old maxim that investors should never convert a convertible bond.

Graham begins by dismantling the popular belief that investing in high-growth industries guarantees returns, then equips defensive investors with practical tools like dollar-cost averaging and clear portfolio limits. He explains the types of bonds available, criticizes preferred stocks, and establishes rules for selecting common stocks, including a redefinition of risk as permanent capital loss rather than short-term price decline. For the enterprising investor, he outlines what to avoid and identifies bargain issues as the primary opportunity for superior results. He then evaluates mutual fund performance, exposes misleading accounting practices in corporate earnings reports, and compares four listed companies to illustrate the variety of stock quality. The pool closes with a warning against the hidden dangers of convertible bonds.

Supporting principles and practical investment techniques across the book.

Graham reveals that his earlier belief that enterprising investors would outperform defensive investors may no longer hold true.

Graham warns that three common enterprising tactics — market timing, short-term selectivity, and long-term selectivity — are unlikely to produce superior returns.

Graham reveals that earning above-average investment returns requires following policies that are deliberately not popular on Wall Street.

Graham quotes J. P. Morgan's famous reply that stocks will fluctuate to illustrate that uncertainty is the one certainty in investing.

Graham identifies three distinct historical phases of the stock market, tracing a recurring pattern of growth, collapse, and recovery over decades.

Graham reveals that the choice between taxable and tax-free bonds for defensive investors depends on individual tax bracket and life circumstances.

Graham cautions that growth stocks are generally too speculative and volatile to be appropriate investments for the defensive investor's portfolio.

Graham criticizes the Wall Street practice of using breakthrough signals to time the market, which causes investors to buy high and sell low.

Graham advises investors to approach brokerage firms skeptically because Wall Street profits greatly from encouraging speculative client behavior.

Graham presents a formula for valuing growth stocks: multiply the expected annual earnings growth rate by two, then add 8.5.

Graham frames the stock selection challenge as a choice between the unreliable way of prediction and the safer way of protection.

Graham characterizes NVF Corporation's acquisition of the much larger Sharon Steel as the most financially disproportionate takeover of its era.

Graham determines that Wilcox and Gibbs, despite its far smaller size, is irrationally valued much higher than Whiting Corp. by the market.

Graham observes that companies retaining earnings instead of paying dividends are increasingly accepted but tend to underperform dividend-paying peers in stock appreciation.

Graham establishes that diversification is the essential companion to the margin of safety, together forming the bedrock of sound investing.

Graham opens with a revealing admission that his earlier confidence in the enterprising investor's superior returns may no longer hold true. He then systematically dismantles popular investment tactics, showing that common strategies like market timing and growth chasing are unlikely to succeed, and that above-average returns require deliberately unpopular methods. Key revelations follow about the inevitability of market uncertainty, the cyclical nature of stock history, and the hidden dangers of growth stocks and market timing signals. Graham sharpens his framework with a formal growth-stock valuation formula and the distinction between prediction and protection as two fundamental investor philosophies. The pool concludes with his recognition that shareholder activism has failed and that diversification, standing alongside the margin of safety, completes the foundation of intelligent investing.