Earnings Per Share - Praxair, Inc. Shareholders

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Per share data - Praxair, Inc. Shareholders [Abstract]

Earnings Per Share - Praxair, Inc. Shareholders

6. Earnings Per Share – Praxair, Inc. Shareholders

Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing Net Income – Praxair, Inc. for the period by the weighted average number of Praxair common shares outstanding. Diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing Net income – Praxair, Inc. for the period by the weighted average number of Praxair common shares outstanding and dilutive common stock equivalents, as follows:

	Quarter Ended
	March 31,
	2012	2011
Numerator (Millions of dollars)
Net income - Praxair, Inc.	$ 419	$ 398
Denominator (Thousands of shares)
Weighted average shares outstanding	298,512	303,449
Shares earned and issuable under compensation plans	565	622
Weighted average shares used in basic earnings per share	299,077	304,071
Effect of dilutive securities
Stock options and awards	3,799	4,524
Weighted average shares used in diluted earnings per share	302,876	308,595
Basic Earnings Per Share	$ 1.40	$ 1.31
Diluted Earnings Per Share	$ 1.38	$ 1.29

Stock options of 1,626,080 and 1,630,690 were antidilutive and therefore excluded in the computation of diluted earnings per share for the quarters ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.