Earnings Per Share (CenterPoint Energy) (Tables)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted [Table Text Block]

The following table reconciles numerators and denominators of CenterPoint Energy’s basic and diluted earnings per common share. Basic earnings per common share is determined by dividing Income available to common shareholders - basic by the Weighted average common shares outstanding - basic for the applicable period. Diluted earnings per common share is determined by the inclusion of potentially dilutive common stock equivalent shares that may occur if securities to issue Common Stock were exercised or converted into Common Stock.

	Three Months Ended June 30,					Six Months Ended June 30,
	2019		2018			2019		2018
	(in millions, except share and per share amounts)
Numerator:
Income (loss) available to common shareholders - basic	$	165	$	(75	)	$	305	$	90
Add back: Series B Preferred Stock dividend	—		—			—		—
Income (loss) available to common shareholders - diluted	$	165	$	(75	)	$	305	$	90
Denominator:
Weighted average common shares outstanding - basic	502,200,000		431,523,000			501,862,000		431,378,000
Plus: Incremental shares from assumed conversions:
Restricted stock (1)	2,631,000		—			2,631,000		3,029,000
Series B Preferred Stock (2)	—		—			—		—
Weighted average common shares outstanding - diluted	504,831,000		431,523,000			504,493,000		434,407,000
Earnings per common share:
Basic earnings (loss) per common share	$	0.33	$	(0.17	)	$	0.61	$	0.21
Diluted earnings (loss) per common share	$	0.33	$	(0.17	)	$	0.61	$	0.21

(1) The potentially dilutive impact from restricted stock awards applies the treasury stock method. Under this method, an increase in the average fair market value of Common Stock can result in a greater dilutive impact from these securities. 3,029,000 incremental shares from assumed conversions of restricted stock have not been included in the computation of diluted earnings (loss) per share for the three months ended June 30, 2018, as their inclusion would be anti-dilutive.

(2)

The potentially dilutive impact from Series B Preferred Stock applies the if-converted method in calculating diluted earnings per common share. Under this method, diluted earnings per common share is adjusted for the more dilutive effect of the Series B Preferred Stock as a result of either its accumulated dividend for the period in the numerator or the assumed-converted common share equivalent in the denominator. The computation of diluted earnings per common share outstanding for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 excludes 32,121,000 and 32,121,000 potentially dilutive shares, respectively, because to include them would be anti-dilutive. However, these shares could be potentially dilutive in the future.