Earnings per Share

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

17. Earnings per Share

The following table sets forth a reconciliation of the information used in computing basic and diluted earnings per share:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2016		2015		2014
Earnings from continuing operations	$	508,892	$	595,881	$	778,140
Earnings (losses) from discontinued operations, net	—		273,948		(2,905		)
Net earnings	$	508,892	$	869,829	$	775,235
Basic earnings per common share:
Earnings from continuing operations	$	3.28	$	3.78	$	4.67
Earnings (losses) from discontinued operations, net	$	—	$	1.74	$	(0.02	)
Net earnings	$	3.28	$	5.52	$	4.65

Weighted average shares outstanding	155,231,000		157,619,000		166,692,000
Diluted earnings per common share:
Earnings from continuing operations	$	3.25	$	3.74	$	4.61
Earnings (losses) from discontinued operations, net	$	—	$	1.72	$	(0.02	)
Net earnings	$	3.25	$	5.46	$	4.59

Weighted average shares outstanding	156,636,000		159,172,000		168,842,000

The following table is a reconciliation of the share amounts used in computing earnings per share:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2016	2015	2014
Weighted average shares outstanding - Basic	155,231,000	157,619,000	166,692,000
Dilutive effect of assumed exercise of employee stock options and SARs and vesting of performance shares and restricted shares	1,405,000	1,553,000	2,150,000
Weighted average shares outstanding - Diluted	156,636,000	159,172,000	168,842,000

Diluted per share amounts are computed using the weighted average number of common shares and, if dilutive, potential common shares outstanding during the period. Potential common shares consist of the incremental common shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options and SARs and vesting of performance shares and restricted shares, as determined using the treasury stock method. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the weighted average number of anti-dilutive potential common shares excluded from the calculation above totaled 6,799, 25,313 and 38,789, respectively.