EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE AND DIVIDENDS PER SHARE

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2021

EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE AND DIVIDENDS PER SHARE

BASIC

Earnings per common share is calculated by dividing earnings attributable to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding. The weighted average number of common shares outstanding has been reduced by our pro-rata weighted average interest in our own common shares of approximately 2 million and 3 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, respectively, compared to 6 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, resulting from our reciprocal investment in Noverco Inc. (Noverco).

DILUTED

The treasury stock method is used to determine the dilutive impact of stock options. This method assumes any proceeds from the exercise of stock options would be used to purchase common shares at the average market price during the period.

Weighted average shares outstanding used to calculate basic and diluted earnings per share are as follows:


	Three months ended June 30,		Six months ended June 30,
	2021	2020	2021	2020
(number of shares in millions)
Weighted average shares outstanding	2,024	2,019	2,023	2,019
Effect of dilutive options	2	1	1	2
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding	2,026	2,020	2,024	2,021

For the three months ended June 30, 2021 and 2020, 20.5 million and 34.6 million, respectively, of anti-dilutive stock options with a weighted average exercise price of $50.66 and $51.00, respectively, were excluded from the diluted earnings per common share calculation.

For the six months ended June 30, 2021 and 2020, 24.0 million and 25.7 million, respectively, of anti-dilutive stock options with a weighted average exercise price of $51.10 and $52.71, respectively, were excluded from the diluted earnings per common share calculation.

DIVIDENDS PER SHARE

On July 27, 2021, our Board of Directors declared the following quarterly dividends. All dividends are payable on September 1, 2021 to shareholders of record on August 13, 2021.


			Dividend per share
Common Shares1			$0.83500
Preference Shares, Series A			$0.34375
Preference Shares, Series B			$0.21340
Preference Shares, Series C2			$0.15753
Preference Shares, Series D			$0.27875
Preference Shares, Series F			$0.29306
Preference Shares, Series H			$0.27350
Preference Shares, Series J			US$0.30540
Preference Shares, Series L			US$0.30993
Preference Shares, Series N			$0.31788
Preference Shares, Series P			$0.27369
Preference Shares, Series R			$0.25456
Preference Shares, Series 1			US$0.37182
Preference Shares, Series 3			$0.23356
Preference Shares, Series 5			US$0.33596
Preference Shares, Series 7			$0.27806
Preference Shares, Series 9			$0.25606
Preference Shares, Series 11			$0.24613
Preference Shares, Series 13			$0.19019
Preference Shares, Series 15			$0.18644
Preference Shares, Series 17			$0.32188
Preference Shares, Series 19			$0.30625

1 The quarterly dividend per common share was increased 3% to $0.835 from $0.81, effective March 1, 2021.

2 The quarterly dividend per share paid on Series C was increased to $0.15501 from $0.15349 on March 1, 2021, and increased to $0.15753 from $0.15501 on June 1, 2021, due to reset on a quarterly basis following the date of issuance of the Series C Preference Shares.