14.	EARNINGS PER SHARE

Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the year. Diluted earnings per share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock or resulted in the issuance of common stock that then shared in the earnings of the entity. For CoreCivic, diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares after considering the additional dilution related to restricted share grants and stock options.

A reconciliation of the numerator and denominator of the basic earnings per share computation to the numerator and denominator of the diluted earnings per share computation is as follows (in thousands, except per share data):

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2017		2016		2015
NUMERATOR
Basic:
Net income	$	178,040	$	219,919	$	221,854
Diluted:
Net income	$	178,040	$	219,919	$	221,854
DENOMINATOR
Basic:
Weighted average common shares outstanding		118,084		117,384		116,949
Diluted:
Weighted average common shares outstanding		118,084		117,384		116,949
Effect of dilutive securities:
Stock options	310			306	631
Restricted stock-based awards	71			101	205
Weighted average shares and assumed conversions		118,465		117,791		117,785
BASIC EARNINGS PER SHARE	$	1.51	$	1.87	$	1.90
DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE	$	1.50	$	1.87	$	1.88

Approximately 8,000, 268,000, and 8,000 stock options were excluded from the computations of diluted earnings per share for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively, because they were anti-dilutive.