Years ago a friend of mine bought AA when they were then near bankruptcy and the stock went up many fold soon after they emerged a stronger company. He said that American Airlines is one company that he thought will always find a way to stay alive. He made a small fortune while I watched. I remembered that and when It went down to 33 cents I bought 3000 shares for under a $1000 as a shot in the dark (I lost a lot more than that before with some bank stocks that our government forced out of business). As soon as AA hit around $1 I sold 1000 shares to get all my money back because I was well aware that their future was in the hands of the courts (whether or not to allow the merger with US airlines). Without the merger their survival was uncertain. I kept my 2000 shares of FREE STOCK and just began selling some to guarantee my profit. Break it down to pure luck.