Net income per common share

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Earnings Per Share

Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share

Note 26 – Net income per common shareThe following table sets forth the computation of net income per common share (“EPS”), basic and diluted, for the quarters and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018:

	Quarters ended June 30,				Six months ended June 30,
(In thousands, except per share information)	2019		2018		2019		2018
Net income	$	171,106	$	279,783	$	339,031	$	371,107
Preferred stock dividends		(931)		(931)		(1,862)		(1,862)
Net income applicable to common stock	$	170,175	$	278,852	$	337,169	$	369,245
Average common shares outstanding		96,305,118		101,892,402		97,437,141		101,794,914
Average potential dilutive common shares		152,330		139,553		154,848		137,563
Average common shares outstanding - assuming dilution		96,457,448		102,031,955		97,591,989		101,932,477
Basic EPS	$	1.77	$	2.74	$	3.46	$	3.63
Diluted EPS	$	1.76	$	2.73	$	3.45	$	3.62

As disclosed in Note 18, during the quarter ended March 31, 2019, the Corporation entered into a $250 million accelerated share repurchase transaction (“ASR”) and, in connection therewith, received an initial delivery of 3,500,000 shares of common stock. The initial share delivery was accounted for as a treasury stock transaction. As part of this transaction, the Corporation entered into a forward contract, which remains outstanding as of June 30, 2019, for which the Corporation expects to receive additional shares upon termination of the ASR agreement. The diluted EPS computation for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2019 excludes 1,153,318 and 1,180,649 antidilutive shares, respectively, related to the ASR.

For the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2019, the Corporation calculated the impact of potential dilutive common shares under the treasury stock method, consistent with the method used for the preparation of the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018. For a discussion of the calculation under the treasury stock method, refer to Note 32 of the Consolidated Financial Statements included in the 2018 Form 10-K.