Stockholders' Equity

3 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]

Note 9—Stockholders’ Equity

As-converted class A common stock. The following table presents the number of shares of each series and class of stock and the number of shares of class A common stock on an as-converted basis:



	December 31, 2019				September 30, 2019
	Shares Outstanding	Conversion Rate Into Class A Common Stock		As-converted Class A Common Stock⁽¹⁾	Shares Outstanding	Conversion Rate Into Class A Common Stock		As-converted Class A Common Stock⁽¹⁾
	(in millions, except conversion rates)
UK&I preferred stock	2	12.9360		32	2	12.9360		32
Europe preferred stock	3	13.8840		44	3	13.8840		44
Class A common stock⁽²⁾	1,709	—		1,709	1,718	—		1,718
Class B common stock	245	1.6228	⁽³⁾	398	245	1.6228	⁽³⁾	398
Class C common stock	11	4.0000		44	11	4.0000		45
Total				2,227				2,237


⁽¹⁾	Figures in the table may not recalculate exactly due to rounding. As-converted class A common stock is calculated based on unrounded numbers.


⁽²⁾	Class A common stock shares outstanding reflect repurchases that settled on or before December 31, 2019 and September 30, 2019.


⁽³⁾	The class B to class A common stock conversion rate is presented on a rounded basis. Conversion calculations for dividend payments are based on a conversion rate rounded to the tenth decimal.

Reduction in as-converted shares. Under the terms of the Europe retrospective responsibility plan, the Company is entitled to recover VE territory covered losses through periodic adjustments to the class A common stock conversion rates applicable to the UK&I and Europe preferred stock. The recovery has the same economic effect on earnings per share as repurchasing the Company’s class A common stock, because it reduces the UK&I and Europe preferred stock conversion rates and consequently, reduces the as-converted class A common stock share count. There were no conversion rate adjustments in the three months ended December 31, 2019. See Note 4—U.S. and Europe Retrospective Responsibility Plans.

Common stock repurchases. The following table presents share repurchases in the open market for the following periods:



	Three Months Ended December 31,
	2019		2018
	(in millions, except per share data)
Shares repurchased in the open market⁽¹⁾	13		17
Average repurchase price per share⁽²⁾	$	179.27	$	138.11
Total cost⁽²⁾	$	2,370	$	2,393


⁽¹⁾	Shares repurchased in the open market reflect repurchases that settled during the three months ended December 31, 2019 and 2018. All shares repurchased in the open market have been retired and constitute authorized but unissued shares.


⁽²⁾	Figures in the table may not recalculate exactly due to rounding. Average repurchase price per share and total cost is calculated based on unrounded numbers.

In January 2019, the Company’s board of directors authorized an $8.5 billion share purchase program. As of December 31, 2019, the Company’s January 2019 share repurchase program had remaining authorized funds of $1.7 billion for share repurchase. In January 2020, the Company’s board of directors authorized an additional $9.5 billion share repurchase program. These authorizations have no expiration date.

Dividends. On January 28, 2020, the Company’s board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.30 per share of class A common stock (determined in the case of class B and C common stock and UK&I and Europe preferred stock on an as-converted basis). The cash dividend will be paid on March 3, 2020, to all holders of record as of February 14, 2020. The Company declared and paid $671 million and $572 million during the three months ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, in dividends to holders of the Company’s common and preferred stocks.