United Airlines announced a $1.5 billion stock buyback plan, underscoring a seeming return to an investor focus that had diminished in the pandemic.

That money United just promised Wall Street belongs to flight attendants who worked throughout the pandemic,” union spokespeople said.

On the back of a strong quarterly earnings report and a subsequent clutch of analyst price target raises, the company's shares experienced quite a lift. According to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, they were up by almost 19% in value week to date as of Friday prior to market open.