Note 4 — Supplemental Financial Information

Shares of unvested restricted stock that contain non-forfeitable rights to dividends are treated as participating securities and are included in the computation of earnings per share under the two-class method. Under the two-class method, net earnings are allocated between common shares and participating securities. Earnings from Continuing Operations allocated to common shares for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 were $384 million and $55 million, respectively. Net earnings allocated to common shares for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 were $417 million and $315 million, respectively.

Other, net in Net cash from operating activities in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the first three months of 2017 and 2016 includes the effects of contributions to defined benefit plans of $283 million and $491 million, respectively, and the post-employment medical and dental benefit plans of $11 million in 2017 and $9 million in 2016. The first quarter of 2017 also includes the impact of approximately $430 million of tax expense related to business dispositions, which has not yet been paid, and is taxed at a discrete tax rate. The first quarter of 2016 included the non-cash impact of approximately $390 million of net tax benefits primarily associated with the resolution of various tax positions from prior years, as well as cash taxes paid of approximately $125 million related to the disposition of businesses. The foreign currency loss related to Venezuela in the first quarter of 2016 reduced Abbott’s cash by approximately $405 million and is shown on the Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents line within the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows.

Since January 2010, Venezuela has been designated as a highly inflationary economy under U.S. GAAP. In 2014 and 2015, the government of Venezuela operated multiple mechanisms to exchange bolivars into U.S. dollars. These mechanisms included the CENCOEX, SICAD, and SIMADI rates, which stood at 6.3, 13.5, and approximately 200, respectively, at December 31, 2015. In 2015, Abbott continued to use the CENCOEX rate of 6.3 Venezuelan bolivars to the U.S. dollar to report the results, financial position, and cash flows related to its operations in Venezuela since Abbott continued to qualify for this exchange rate to pay for the import of various products into Venezuela.

On February 17, 2016, the Venezuelan government announced that the three-tier exchange rate system would be reduced to two rates renamed the DIPRO and DICOM rates. The DIPRO rate is the official rate for food and medicine imports and was adjusted from 6.3 to 10 bolivars per U.S. dollar. The DICOM rate is a floating market rate published daily by the Venezuelan central bank, which at the end of the first quarter of 2016 was approximately 263 bolivars per U.S. dollar. As a result of decreasing government approvals to convert bolivars to U.S. dollars to pay for intercompany accounts, as well as the accelerating deterioration of economic conditions in the country, Abbott concluded that it was appropriate to move to the DICOM rate at the end of the first quarter of 2016. As a result, Abbott recorded a foreign currency exchange loss of $477 million in the first quarter of 2016 to revalue its net monetary assets in Venezuela. Abbott is continuing to use the DICOM rate to report the results of operations and to remeasure net monetary assets for Venezuela at the end of each quarter. As of March 31, 2017, Abbott’s Venezuelan operations represented approximately 0.02% of Abbott’s consolidated assets and any additional foreign currency losses related to Venezuela are not expected to be material.

The components of long-term investments as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 are as follows:

Long-term Investments	March 31,		December 31,
(in millions)	2017		2016
Equity securities	$	1,702	$	2,906
Other	54		41

Total	$	1,756	$	2,947

As discussed in Note 2, in the first quarter of 2017, Abbott sold 44 million ordinary shares of Mylan N.V., thereby reducing Abbott’s equity securities by approximately $1.7 billion.

Abbott’s equity securities as of March 31, 2017, include approximately $338 million of investments in mutual funds that are held in a rabbi trust and were acquired as part of the St. Jude Medical, Inc. (St. Jude Medical) business acquisition. These investments, which are specifically designated as available for the purpose of paying benefits under a deferred compensation plan, are not available for general corporate purposes and are subject to creditor claims in the event of insolvency.