Earnings Per Share

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Earnings per share

NOTE 7 – EARNINGS PER SHARE

The following table illustrates the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 (in thousands, except per share data):

	For the Three Months Ended   March 31,
	2015		2014
Numerator (basic and diluted):
Net income	$	212,864	$	173,860
Denominator:
Denominator for basic earnings per share - weighted-average shares	101,612		106,191
Effect of stock options (1)	1,645		1,879
Denominator for diluted earnings per share - weighted-average shares	103,257		108,070
Earnings per share:
Earnings per share-basic	$	2.09	$	1.64
Earnings per share-assuming dilution	$	2.06	$	1.61
Antidilutive potential common shares not included in the calculation of diluted earnings per share:
Stock options (1)	278		288
Weighted-average exercise price per share of antidilutive stock options (1)	$	195.90	$	135.22

⁽¹⁾  See Note 6 for further discussion on the terms of the Company's share-based compensation plans.

For the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, the computation of diluted earnings per share did not include certain securities. These securities represent underlying stock options not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share, because the inclusion of such equity awards would have been antidilutive.

Subsequent to the end of the first quarter and through May 8, 2015, the Company repurchased 0.6 million shares of its common stock, at an average price of $218.25, for a total investment of $133.9 million.