Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the year. Diluted earnings per share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock or resulted in the issuance of common stock that then shared in the earnings of the entity. For CoreCivic, diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares after considering the additional dilution related to restricted share grants and stock options.

A reconciliation of the numerator and denominator of the basic earnings per share computation to the numerator and denominator of the diluted earnings per share computation is as follows (in thousands, except per share data):

	For the Three Months Ended September 30,				For the Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2019		2018		2019		2018
NUMERATOR
Basic:
Net income	$	48,994	$	40,994	$	146,912	$	117,968
Diluted:
Net income	$	48,994	$	40,994	$	146,912	$	117,968
DENOMINATOR
Basic:
Weighted average common shares outstanding		119,096		118,597		119,028		118,544
Diluted:
Weighted average common shares outstanding		119,096		118,597		119,028		118,544
Effect of dilutive securities:
Stock options	3			178	30			123
Restricted stock-based awards	90			74	104			44
Weighted average shares and assumed conversions		119,189		118,849		119,162		118,711
BASIC EARNINGS PER SHARE	$	0.41	$	0.35	$	1.23	$	1.00
DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE	$	0.41	$	0.34	$	1.23	$	0.99

Approximately 0.5 million and 16,000 stock options were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively because they were anti-dilutive. Approximately 0.4 million and 0.3 million stock options were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, because they were anti-dilutive.