Earnings per Share

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

20. 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,
	2019		2018		2017
Earnings from continuing operations	$	677,918	$	591,145	$	746,663
(Loss) earnings from discontinued operations, net	—		(20,878)		65,002
Net earnings	$	677,918	$	570,267	$	811,665
Basic earnings per common share:
Earnings from continuing operations	$	4.67	$	3.94	$	4.80
(Loss) earnings from discontinued operations, net	$	—	$	(0.14)	$	0.42
Net earnings	$	4.67	$	3.80	$	5.21

Weighted average basic shares outstanding	145,198,000		149,874,000		155,685,000
Diluted earnings per common share:
Earnings from continuing operations	$	4.61	$	3.89	$	4.73
(Loss) earnings from discontinued operations, net	$	—	$	(0.14)	$	0.41
Net earnings	$	4.61	$	3.75	$	5.15

Weighted average diluted shares outstanding	146,992,000		152,133,000		157,744,000

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


	Years Ended December 31,
	2019	2018	2017
Weighted average shares outstanding - Basic	145,198,000	149,874,000	155,685,000
Dilutive effect of assumed exercise of SARs and vesting of performance shares and RSUs	1,794,000	2,259,000	2,059,000
Weighted average shares outstanding - Diluted	146,992,000	152,133,000	157,744,000

Diluted earnings per share amounts are computed using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding and, if dilutive, potential common shares outstanding during the period. Potential common shares consist of the incremental common shares issuable upon the exercise of SARs and vesting of performance shares and RSUs, as determined using the treasury stock method. For the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, the weighted average number of anti-dilutive potential common shares excluded from the calculation above totaled 28,096, 1,382 and 79,756, respectively.