18. Earnings and Dividends Per Share


	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
($ in millions, except per share amounts; shares in thousands)	2018		2017		2018		2017

Net earnings attributable to Ball Corporation	$	59	$	48	$	303	$	215

Basic weighted average common shares		342,982		350,327		347,113		350,481
Effect of dilutive securities		6,727		8,229		6,642		8,011
Weighted average shares applicable to diluted earnings per share		349,709		358,556		353,755		358,492

Per basic share	$	0.17	$	0.14	$	0.87	$	0.61
Per diluted share	$	0.17	$	0.13	$	0.86	$	0.60

Certain outstanding options were excluded from the diluted earnings per share calculation because they were anti-dilutive (i.e., their assumed conversion into common stock would increase rather than decrease earnings per share). The options excluded totaled 4 million for both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018. The options excluded totaled 3 million and 5 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively.

The company declared and paid dividends of $0.10 per share in each of the first three quarters of 2018. The company declared and paid dividends of $0.065 per share in the first quarter of 2017 and $0.10 per share in each of the second and third quarters of 2017.