Buffett Says Stock Market Has Become Closer to Gambling Than Investing

"When everyone prefers gambling, it becomes harder to find worthwhile investments"

"Truly meaningful investment opportunities are rare and require patience and discipline"

Warren Buffett said the stock market has recently become tilted toward speculative trading rather than long-term investing.

In an interview with CNBC's Becky Quick on July 15, Buffett said it becomes harder to find worthwhile investments when everyone prefers gambling.

Buffett made a similar remark in May, when he likened the market to "a church with a casino attached" and described the surge in same-day options trading as gambling.

A longtime adherent of value investing, Buffett said truly meaningful investment opportunities are rare and should be approached with patience and discipline. Sometimes opportunities seem to pour in. At other times, it can be difficult to find a good investment for years, he said, adding that the latter should be the normal state of affairs.

He also said that because people are naturally drawn to gambling, the system has evolved in a way that makes more money from producing gamblers than from cultivating investors.

US stocks have continued to climb this year, hitting record highs despite several sources of uncertainty, including the risk of an energy shock from a war with Iran.

Skeptics have said speculation surrounding artificial intelligence-related stocks has gone too far, and that instruments such as options and leveraged exchange-traded funds have added fuel to the speculative frenzy. Meanwhile, retail investors have piled into stocks such as memory-chip maker Micron, Sandisk and SpaceX, which recently went public.

Jeong-a Kim, contributing reporter at Hankyung.com, kja@hankyung.com