Earnings Per Share

6 Months Ended

Mar. 28, 2014

Earnings Per Share

14. EARNINGS PER SHARE

Basic net earnings per share is computed by dividing net earnings by the weighted average number of shares of VMS common stock outstanding for the period. Diluted net earnings per share is computed by dividing net earnings by the sum of the weighted average number of common shares outstanding and dilutive common shares under the treasury stock method.

The following table sets forth the computation of net basic and diluted earnings per share:

	Three Months Ended				Six Months Ended
	March 28,		March 29,		March 28,		March 29,
(In thousands, except per share amounts)	2014		2013		2014		2013
Net earnings	$	92,788	$	112,788	$	190,748	$	208,071
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic		104,152		108,841		105,038		109,038
Dilutive effect of potential common shares		1,294		1,809		1,376		1,825
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted		105,446		110,650		106,414		110,863
Net earnings per share - basic	$	0.89	$	1.04	$	1.82	$	1.91
Net earnings per share - diluted	$	0.88	$	1.02	$	1.79	$	1.88
Anti-dilutive employee shared based awards, excluded		657		658		1,040		883

The Company excludes potentially dilutive common shares (consisting of shares underlying stock options and the employee stock purchase plan) from the computation of diluted weighted average shares outstanding if the per share value, either the exercise price of the awards or the sum of (a) the exercise price of the awards and (b) the amount of the compensation cost attributed to future services and not yet recognized and (c) the amount of tax benefit or shortfall that would be recorded in additional paid-in capital when the award becomes deductible, is greater than the average market price of the shares, because the inclusion of the shares underlying these stock awards would be antidilutive to earnings per share.