US stock market volatility is ‘really nothing’ says Warren Buffett. How to invest like the Oracle when others want out

Feb 21, 2026
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Warren Buffett speaks into a microphone and holds up one hand with his index and thumb slightly apart.

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Short-term turbulence in the stock market can be enough to make novice investors nauseous, but veterans like Warren Buffett say it’s all part of the game.

In May 2025, one of his last Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meetings before retirement, the 95-year-old commented on the roller coaster effect President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs had on the market.

“What’s happened in the last 30, 45 days, 100 days, whatever you want to call it, it’s really nothing,” he said (1).

His confidence appears to align with predictions from other financial gurus for 2026. In spite of fear of an AI bubble (2) and dips in the price of gold (3), most investment firms on Wall Street were bullish in their predictions for the market this year, with many analysts looking forward to another year of double-digit returns (4).

In fact, the billionaire has seen much worse volatility in the past. Here’s why the world’s most famous investor is unconcerned by swings in the stock market, and why you should avoid trying to time the market when valuations get rocky.

For Buffett, the market performance in 2025 was just a bump in the road to long-term gains. After all, the Oracle has been actively investing in stocks since 1941, when he was 11 years old, giving him much more historical context than the average investor.

Now, after over eight decades of picking stocks amid these swings, nothing fazes him. Buffett insists young investors with limited experience should have a similar attitude.

“If it makes a difference to you whether your stocks are down 15% or not, you need to get a somewhat different investment philosophy,” he recommended in his annual shareholder update (5).

If you fall into that camp of investors who worry about upcoming market swings, here’s how you can prepare to weather the storm as Buffett does.

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First and foremost, remember that market crashes and volatility are inevitable. That’s why sophisticated investors like Buffett structure their portfolios to sail through turbulence.

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