In all honesty, a buyback is a waste of capital and a slap in the face of a labor group that needs a raise. Let me explain;

A buy back reduces the float of stock available thus making Spirit stock more scarce and thus making it more valuable. It’s a noble goal; management appeasing large shareholders, especially if the stock buybacks are initiated when the stock is relatively cheap and, in the case of our company, not in the $60-$80 range when they blew their first $300,000,000!!! In short, stock buybacks are unreliable in delivering shareholder return on capital invested. It is completely dependent on the general market mood (can’t fight overall trends), and dependent on the timing of the buybacks, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, that the shareholders actually realize those gains by selling the stock. One doesn’t make money till they sell......

Dividends/payouts/royalties are the REAL return to shareholders. Cash in hand speaks volumes!!