Earnings Per Share, Share Repurchases and Dividends on Common Stock (Unaudited)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Equity [Abstract]

EARNINGS PER SHARE, SHARE REPURCHASES AND DIVIDENDS ON COMMON STOCK

EARNINGS PER SHARE, SHARE REPURCHASES AND DIVIDENDS ON COMMON STOCK

Basic Earnings Per Share

We calculate basic earnings per share by dividing net earnings by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during each period.

Diluted Earnings Per Share

Diluted earnings per share include the dilutive effect of awards granted to employees under stock-based compensation plans. The dilutive effect of these securities totaled 0.6 million shares and 0.5 million shares for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively. The dilutive effect of these securities totaled 0.5 million shares and 0.6 million shares for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively.

Share Repurchases

On September 16, 2015, the company’s board of directors authorized a share repurchase program of up to $4.0 billion of the company’s common stock (the “2015 Repurchase Program”). On December 4, 2018, the company’s board of directors authorized a share repurchase program of up to an additional $3.0 billion in share repurchases of the company’s common stock (the “2018 Repurchase Program”). Repurchases under the 2015 Repurchase Program commenced in March 2016 and were completed in March 2020 at which time repurchases under the 2018 Repurchase Program commenced. As of September 30, 2021, repurchases under the 2018 Repurchase Program totaled $2.9 billion; $0.1 billion remained under this share repurchase authorization. By its terms, the 2018 Repurchase Program is set to expire when we have used all authorized funds for repurchases.

On January 25, 2021, the company’s board of directors authorized a new share repurchase program of up to an additional $3.0 billion in share repurchases of the company’s common stock (the “2021 Repurchase Program”). By its terms, repurchases under the 2021 Repurchase Program will commence upon completion of the 2018 Repurchase Program and will expire when we have used all authorized funds for repurchases.

During the first quarter of 2021, the company entered into an accelerated share repurchase (ASR) agreement with Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (Goldman Sachs) to repurchase $2.0 billion of the company’s common stock as part of the 2018 Repurchase Program. Under the agreement, we made a payment of $2.0 billion to Goldman Sachs and received an initial delivery of 5.9 million shares valued at $1.7 billion that were immediately canceled by the company. The remaining balance of $300 million was settled on June 1, 2021 with a final delivery of 0.2 million shares from Goldman Sachs. The final average purchase price was $327.29 per share.

Share repurchases take place from time to time, subject to market conditions and management’s discretion, in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. The company retires its common stock upon repurchase and, in the periods presented, has not made any purchases of common stock other than in connection with these publicly announced repurchase programs.

The table below summarizes the company’s share repurchases to date under the authorizations described above:

							Shares Repurchased (in millions)
Repurchase Program Authorization Date	Amount Authorized (in millions)		Total Shares Retired (in millions)	Average  Price Per Share(1)		Date Completed	Nine Months Ended September 30
							2021	2020
September 16, 2015	$	4,000	15.4	$	260.33	March 2020	—	0.9
December 4, 2018	$	3,000	8.6	$	335.62		8.1	0.5
January 25, 2021	$	3,000	—	—			—	—

(1)Includes commissions paid.

Dividends on Common Stock

In May 2021, the company increased the quarterly common stock dividend 8 percent to $1.57 per share from the previous amount of $1.45 per share.