Earnings Per Share

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Earnings Per Share

Earnings Per Share

Note 2.  Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per share is based on the weighted average shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share assumes the weighted average dilutive effect of common share equivalents outstanding during the period applied to the company’s basic earnings per share. Common share equivalents represent potentially dilutive stock options and restricted shares, and dilutive shares related to the company’s 5.125% convertible senior notes, and are excluded from the computation in periods in which they have an anti-dilutive effect. Options to purchase 6.5 million and 5.8 million shares were anti-dilutive at September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively.  The computation of diluted earnings per share for the three months ended September 30, 2012 did not include the after-tax equivalent of interest of $2.4 million for the company’s 5.125% senior convertible notes, due 2014 and the related weighted average equivalent of 16.6 million shares, as the result would have been anti-dilutive.

The following table presents a reconciliation of the numerators and the denominators of the company’s basic and diluted earnings per share computations for net income attributable to Steel Dynamics, Inc. (in thousands, except per share data):

	Three Months Ended September 30,
	2012					2011
	Net Income (Numerator)		Shares (Denominator)	Per Share Amount		Net Income (Numerator)		Shares (Denominator)	Per Share Amount
Basic earnings per share	$	12,833	219,191	$	.06	$	43,304	218,674	$	.20
Dilutive stock option effect	—		853			—		703
5.125% convertible senior notes, net of tax	—		—			2,358		16,382
Diluted earnings per share	$	12,833	220,044	$	.06	$	45,662	235,759	$	.19

	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2012					2011
	Net Income (Numerator)		Shares (Denominator)	Per Share Amount		Net Income (Numerator)		Shares (Denominator)	Per Share Amount
Basic earnings per share	$	102,980	219,097	$	.47	$	247,917	218,389	$	1.14
Dilutive stock option effect	—		908			—		1,312
5.125% convertible senior notes, net of tax	7,074		16,531			7,074		16,382
Diluted earnings per share	$	110,054	236,536	$	.47	$	254,991	236,083	$	1.08