EMPLOYEE STOCK BENEFIT PLANS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Text Block]

EMPLOYEE STOCK BENEFIT PLANS

On May 1, 2012, the shareholders approved the 2012 Plan, which replaced the 2007 Stock Incentive Plan. The 2012 Plan provides for 109 million shares to be authorized for grants, plus any shares from outstanding awards under the 2007 Plan as of February 29, 2012 that expire, are forfeited, canceled, or withheld to satisfy tax withholding obligations. As of December 31, 2017, 104 million shares were available for award. Shares are issued from treasury stock to satisfy our obligations under this Plan.

Executive officers and key employees may be granted options to purchase common stock at no less than the market price on the date the option is granted. Options generally become exercisable ratably over four years and have a maximum term of ten years. The plan provides for the granting of stock appreciation rights whereby the grantee may surrender exercisable rights and receive common stock and/or cash measured by the excess of the market price of the common stock over the option exercise price. The Company has not granted any stock options or stock appreciation rights since 2009.

Restricted stock units may be granted to key employees, subject to restrictions as to continuous employment. Generally, vesting occurs ratably over a four year period from grant date. A stock unit is a right to receive stock at the end of the specified vesting period but has no voting rights.

Market share units are granted to executives. Vesting is conditioned upon continuous employment until the vesting date and a payout factor of at least 60% of the share price on the award date. The payout factor is the share price on vesting date divided by share price on award date, with a maximum of 200%. The share price used in the payout factor is calculated using an average of the closing prices on the grant or vest date, and the nine trading days immediately preceding the grant or vest date. Vesting occurs ratably over four years.

Performance share units are granted to executives, have a three year cycle and are granted as a target number of units subject to adjustment. The number of shares issued when performance share units vest is determined based on the achievement of performance goals and based on the Company's three-year total shareholder return relative to a peer group of companies. Vesting is conditioned upon continuous employment and occurs on the third anniversary of the grant date.

Stock-based compensation expense for awards ultimately expected to vest is recognized over the vesting period. Forfeitures are estimated based on historical experience at the time of grant and revised in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. Other information related to stock-based compensation benefits are as follows:

	Years Ended December 31,
Dollars in Millions	2017		2016		2015
Restricted stock units	$	95	$	89	$	82
Market share units	35		37		36
Performance share units	69		79		117
Total stock-based compensation expense	$	199	$	205	$	235
Income tax benefit	$	59	$	69	$	77

	Stock Options				Restricted Stock Units				Market Share Units				Performance Share Units
	Number of Options Outstanding		Weighted- Average Exercise Price of Shares		Number of Nonvested Awards		Weighted- Average Grant-Date Fair Value		Number of Nonvested Awards		Weighted- Average Grant-Date Fair Value		Number of Nonvested Awards		Weighted- Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Shares in Millions
Balance at January 1, 2017	6.4		$	21.02	4.6		$	56.90	1.5		$	61.63	4.1		$	60.97
Granted	—		—		2.7		54.39		0.9		60.14		1.3		57.91
Released/Exercised	(2.5	)	23.80		(1.7	)	53.00		(0.6	)	54.64		(1.5	)	54.46
Adjustments for actual payout	—		—		—		—		—		—		—		—
Forfeited/Canceled	(0.1	)	25.55		(0.7	)	57.26		(0.3	)	62.95		(0.4	)	62.21
Balance at December 31, 2017	3.8		19.04		4.9		56.85		1.5		62.25		3.5		62.57
Vested or expected to vest	3.8		19.04		4.3		56.89		1.4		62.27		3.3		62.82

	Restricted		Market		Performance
Dollars in Millions	Stock Units		Share Units		Share Units
Unrecognized compensation cost	$	197	$	42	$	70
Expected weighted-average period in years of compensation cost to be recognized	2.7		2.8		1.7

Amounts in Millions, except per share data	2017		2016		2015
Weighted-average grant date fair value (per share):
Restricted stock units	$	54.39	$	60.56	$	61.18
Market share units	60.14		65.26		67.03
Performance share units	57.91		64.87		65.07
Fair value of awards that vested:
Restricted stock units	$	91	$	81	$	77
Market share units	33		50		47
Performance share units	84		93		75
Total intrinsic value of stock options exercised	$	84	$	158	$	206

The fair value of restricted stock units, market share units and performance share units approximates the closing trading price of BMS's common stock on the grant date after adjusting for the units not eligible for accrued dividends. In addition, the fair value of market share units and performance share units considers the probability of satisfying the payout factor and total shareholder return, respectively.

The following table summarizes significant ranges of outstanding and exercisable options at December 31, 2017:

	Options Outstanding and Exercisable
Range of Exercise Prices	Number Outstanding and Exercisable (in millions)	Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Life (in years)	Weighted-Average Exercise Price  Per Share		Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in millions)
$17 - $24	3.8	0.83	$	19.04	$	160

The aggregate intrinsic value in the preceding table represents the total pretax intrinsic value, based on the closing stock price of $61.28 on December 31, 2017.