Earnings per Share

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Basic earnings per share (EPS) is calculated using the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted EPS is calculated using the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding, including the dilutive effect of the Company’s stock option grants, SARs, RSUs, warrants, employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) awards, and the 2023 Notes, as determined per the treasury stock method.

Effect of Convertible Notes and Related Convertible Note Hedges and Warrants

In connection with the issuance of the 2023 Notes, the Company entered into Convertible Note Hedge and Warrant Transactions as described further in Note 6, Convertible Senior Notes Due 2023. The expected collective impact of the Convertible Note Hedge and Warrant Transactions is to reduce the potential dilution that would occur if the price of the Company's common stock was between the conversion price of $59.33 per share and the strike price of the warrants of $80.9063 per share.

The 2023 Notes and related Convertible Note Hedge and Warrant Transactions are excluded in the calculation of diluted EPS because inclusion would be anti-dilutive. Specifically, the denominator of the diluted EPS calculation excludes the additional shares related to the 2023 Notes and warrants because the average price of the Company's common stock was less than the conversion price of the 2023 Notes, $59.33 per share, as well as less than the strike price of the warrants, $80.9063 per share. Prior to actual conversion, the Convertible Note Hedge Transactions are not considered in calculating diluted earnings per share, as their impact would be anti-dilutive.

In addition to the above described effect of the 2023 Notes and the related Convertible Note Hedge and Warrant Transactions, the Company also excluded the common stock equivalents of the following outstanding stock-based awards in the calculation of diluted EPS, because their inclusion would be anti-dilutive:


	Three Months ended September 30,		Nine Months ended September 30,
	2020	2019	2020	2019
	(unaudited)		(unaudited)



Stock options, RSUs, PSUs	2,677,770	1,395,138	2,905,469	961,605

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net earnings per share for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 (dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts):


	Three Months ended September 30,				Nine Months ended September 30,
	2020		2019		2020		2019
	(unaudited)				(unaudited)
Numerator, dollars in thousands:
Net earnings	$	39,997	$	28,860	$	96,182	$	79,927

Denominator:
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic	52,658,850		52,453,384		52,583,891		52,392,232

Effect of dilutive securities:
Stock options, RSUs and SARs	1,103,792		1,352,454		1,079,382		1,506,254
Weighted average shares outstanding, diluted	53,762,642		53,805,838		53,663,273		53,898,486

Earnings per share, basic	$	0.76	$	0.55	$	1.83	$	1.53
Earnings per share, diluted	$	0.74	$	0.54	$	1.79	$	1.48