Earnings Per Share

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

NOTE 9 – EARNINGS PER SHARE

The following table illustrates the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018 (in thousands, except per share data):



	For the Three Months Ended June 30,				For the Six Months Ended June 30,
	2019		2018		2019		2018
Numerator (basic and diluted):
Net income	$	353,681	$	353,073	$	674,833	$	657,979

Denominator:
Weighted-average common shares outstanding – basic	77,613		81,733		78,047		82,624
Effect of stock options ⁽¹⁾	799		803		807		806
Weighted-average common shares outstanding – assuming dilution	78,412		82,536		78,854		83,430

Earnings per share:
Earnings per share-basic	$	4.56	$	4.32	$	8.65	$	7.96
Earnings per share-assuming dilution	$	4.51	$	4.28	$	8.56	$	7.89

Antidilutive potential common shares not included in the calculation of diluted earnings per share:
Stock options ⁽¹⁾	184		693		188		714
Weighted-average exercise price per share of antidilutive stock options ⁽¹⁾	$	357.18	$	261.11	$	357.33	$	260.39


⁽¹⁾	See Note 8 for further information concerning the terms of the Company’s share-based compensation plans.

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, 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 second quarter and through August 8, 2019, the Company repurchased an additional 0.5 million shares of its common stock under its share repurchase program, at an average price of $375.47, for a total investment of $174.6 million.