Profit per share




Computations of profit per share:	Three Months Ended September 30				Nine Months Ended September 30
(Dollars in millions except per share data)	2018		2017		2018		2017
Profit for the period (A) ¹	$	1,727	$	1,059	$	5,099	$	2,053
Determination of shares (in millions):
Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding (B)	592.1		592.9		595.3		590.3
Shares issuable on exercise of stock awards, net of shares assumed to be purchased out of proceeds at average market price	7.3		7.2		8.5		6.2
Average common shares outstanding for fully diluted computation (C)²	599.4		600.1		603.8		596.5
Profit per share of common stock:
Assuming no dilution (A/B)	$	2.92	$	1.79	$	8.57	$	3.48
Assuming full dilution (A/C)²	$	2.88	$	1.77	$	8.45	$	3.44
Shares outstanding as of September 30 (in millions)					590.1		594.9

¹Profit attributable to common shareholders.
²Diluted by assumed exercise of stock-based compensation awards using the treasury stock method.

SARs and stock options to purchase 1,471,071 and 5,136,715 common shares were outstanding for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, which were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share because the effect would have been anti-dilutive.

In January 2014, the Board authorized the repurchase of up to $10.0 billion of Caterpillar common stock, which will expire on December 31, 2018. During the first quarter of 2018, 3.1 million shares of our common stock were repurchased at an aggregate cost to Caterpillar of $500 million.

During the second quarter of 2018, we repurchased $750 million of common stock. In May 2018, we entered into an accelerated stock repurchase agreement (ASR) with a third-party financial institution to purchase shares of our common stock. Pursuant to the terms of the ASR Agreement, 3.3 million shares of our common stock were repurchased at an aggregate cost to Caterpillar of $500 million. In May 2018, we repurchased 1.6 million shares for $250 million in open market transactions.

During the third quarter of 2018, we entered into an ASR with a third-party financial institution to purchase $750 million of our common stock. In August 2018, upon payment of $750 million to the financial institution, we received 4.8 million shares. In October 2018, upon final settlement of the ASR, we received an additional 0.4 million shares. In total, we repurchased 5.2 million shares under this ASR. As of September 30, 2018, approximately $3.5 billion of the 2014 $10.0 billion authorization remained.

In July 2018, the Board approved a new share repurchase authorization of up to $10.0 billion of Caterpillar common stock effective January 1, 2019, with no expiration.