Originally Posted by iahflyr

Having the stock go down 20% over a short period can actually kind of be a blessing for the long term buy and hold investor (which should really be everyone).

United is in the middle of a one billion dollar share buyback program. If the stock price drops from $60 a share to $50 a share, United can now repurchase 20% more shares, which increases the value of the remaining shares.

It's also a great time to buy if you've been looking to get in at a good price. United's market cap is roughly half that of Delta. Yet United will earn more than half of what Delta earns this year.