Markets
United Airlines: Visualizing the Numbers Behind the Crisis
The people in Pepsi’s marketing and PR departments must be relieved, because the internet’s viral outrage is finally being channeled in a different direction.
This time the fury is targeted towards United Airlines – a brand that is in full-blown crisis mode after a bloodied passenger was forcibly dragged off a plane, and millions of people witnessed videos of the incident being spread over social media.
Two days into the crisis, here are some charts that will help give context around what happened, as well as the potential effect on the United brand itself.
Damage Done?
First, let’s take a look at what’s happened to United’s stock price since the incident:
While some public relations crises have minimal effects on the long-term financial performance of companies, this market reaction is an interesting gauge to consider.
The stock’s lowest point today was -4.3% below the open, which is equal to a nearly $1 billion loss in market capitalization. At that point, it was speculated that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which owns 9% of all outstanding shares of United Continental Holdings Inc., could lose up to $87 million.
The market clearly saw the crisis as creating risk around United’s fundamental business, but the stock has mostly recovered since those intraday lows. That said, if there are reports of top line revenue being affected because of boycotts or other issues, then the incident’s impact on the stock price could easily re-surface.
Social Media Blowback
With today’s interconnected world, a public relations crisis can start with one tweet. Here’s the snowball effect in brand mentions of United that occurred on April 10th:
Courtesy of: Brandwatch
Here’s another look. This time, it’s a comparison of mentions over the last 21 days.
Courtesy of: Brandwatch
Yes, it’s only been about two weeks since United’s last PR crisis, called #LeggingsGate. As you can see, however, the most recent disaster is many times worse in terms of mentions.
With millions of references to the United Airlines brand occurring on social media, here is the split between positive and negative sentiment as of April 10th::
Courtesy of: Brandwatch
Denied Boarding Rates
But how big of a problem is making passengers deboard a plane, in the first place?
The next chart shows denied boarding rates, inclusive of voluntary and involuntary activity, from January to September 2016:
Data: U.S. Dept of Transportation
United and Delta are the two worst offenders here, with denied boarding rates that are worse than American, Virgin, Alaska, JetBlue, or Southwest.
Lastly, here’s the same figures, except contrasting voluntary vs. involuntary denied boarding rates from January to September 2016:
Data: U.S. Dept of Transportation
Southwest and ExpressJet lead the way with the most involuntary denied boardings, and United Airlines is in the middle of the pack. However, in terms of voluntary denied boardings, United and Delta have much higher rates than other major airlines such as American or Virgin.
Markets
The Top Google Searches Related to Investing in 2022
What was on investors’ minds in 2022? Discover the top Google searches and how the dominant trends played out in portfolios.


The Top Google Searches Related to Investing in 2022
It was a turbulent year for the markets in 2022, with geopolitical conflict, rising prices, and the labor market playing key roles. Which stories captured investors’ attention the most?
This infographic from New York Life Investments outlines the top Google searches related to investing in 2022, and offers a closer look at some of the trends.
Top Google Searches: Year in Review
We picked some of the top economic and investing stories that saw peak search interest in the U.S. each month, according to Google Trends.
Month of Peak Interest | Search Term |
---|---|
January | Great Resignation |
February | Russian Stock Market |
March | Oil Price |
April | Housing Bubble |
May | Value Investing |
June | Bitcoin |
July | Recession |
August | Inflation |
September | US Dollar |
October | OPEC |
November | Layoffs |
December | Interest Rate Forecast |
Data based on exact searches in the U.S. from December 26, 2021 to December 18, 2022.
Let’s look at each quarter in more detail, to see how these top Google searches were related to activity in the economy and investors’ portfolios.
Q1 2022
The start of the year was marked by U.S. workers quitting their jobs in record numbers, and the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war. For instance, the price of crude oil skyrocketed after the war caused supply uncertainties. Early March’s peak of $125 per barrel was a 13-year high.
Date | Closing Price of WTI Crude Oil (USD/Barrel) |
---|---|
January 2, 2022 | $76 |
March 3, 2022 | $125 |
December 29, 2022 | $80 |
While crude oil lost nearly all its gains by year-end, the energy sector in general performed well. In fact, the S&P 500 Energy Index gained 57% over the year compared to the S&P 500’s 19% loss.
Q2 2022
The second quarter of 2022 saw abnormal house price growth, renewed interest in value investing, and a bitcoin crash. In particular, value investing performed much better than growth investing over the course of the year.
Index | Price Return in 2022 |
---|---|
S&P 500 Value Index | -7.4% |
S&P 500 Growth Index | -30.1% |
Value stocks have typically outperformed during periods of rising rates, and 2022 was no exception.
Q3 2022
The third quarter was defined by worries about a recession and inflation, along with interest in the rising U.S. dollar. In fact, the U.S. dollar gained against nearly every major currency.
Currency | USD Appreciation Against Currency (Dec 31 2020-Sep 30 2022) |
---|---|
Japanese Yen | 40.1% |
Chinese Yuan | 9.2% |
Euro | 25.1% |
Canadian Dollar | 7.2% |
British Pound | 22.0% |
Australian Dollar | 18.1% |
Higher interest rates made the U.S. dollar more attractive to investors, since it meant they would get a higher return on their fixed income investments.
Q4 2022
The end of the year was dominated by OPEC cutting oil production, high layoffs in the tech sector, and curiosity about the future of interest rates. The Federal Reserve’s December 2022 economic projections offer clues about the trajectory of the policy rate.
2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Longer Run | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Minimum Projection | 4.9% | 3.1% | 2.4% | 2.3% |
Median Projection | 5.1% | 4.1% | 3.1% | 2.5% |
Maximum Projection | 5.6% | 5.6% | 5.6% | 3.3% |
The Federal Reserve expects interest rates to peak in 2023, with rates to remain elevated above pre-pandemic levels for the foreseeable future.
The Top Google Searches to Come
After a year of volatility across asset classes, economic uncertainty remains. Which themes will become investors’ top Google searches in 2023?
Find out how New York Life Investments can help you make sense of market trends.

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