Earnings Per Common Share (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted

A reconciliation of the numerators and denominators of the basic and diluted EPS calculations follows.

	Years Ended December 31,
(In thousands, except per share data)	2015		2014		2013
Numerator:
Net income attributable to SLM Corporation	$	274,284	$	194,219	$	258,945
Preferred stock dividends	19,595		12,933		—
Net income attributable to SLM Corporation common stock	$	254,689	$	181,286	$	258,945
Denominator:
Weighted average shares used to compute basic EPS	425,574		423,970		440,108
Effect of dilutive securities:
Dilutive effect of stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units and Employee Stock Purchase Plan ("ESPP") (1)(2)	6,660		8,299		8,441
Weighted average shares used to compute diluted EPS	432,234		432,269		448,549
Basic earnings per common share attributable to SLM Corporation	$	0.60	$	0.43	$	0.59
Diluted earnings per common share attributable to SLM Corporation	$	0.59	$	0.42	$	0.58

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⁽¹⁾ Includes the potential dilutive effect of additional common shares that are issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, and the outstanding commitment to issue shares under the ESPP, determined by the treasury stock method.

⁽²⁾ For the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, securities covering approximately 2 million, 3 million and 3 million shares, respectively, were outstanding but not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share because they were anti-dilutive.