Earnings per share

3 Months Ended

May 04, 2012

Earnings per share

Earnings per share

3.Earnings per share

Earnings per share is computed as follows (in thousands, except per share data):

	13 Weeks Ended May 4, 2012					13 Weeks Ended April 29, 2011
	Net Income		Shares	Per Share Amount		Net Income		Shares	Per Share Amount
Basic earnings per share	$	213,415	336,080	$	0.64	$	156,969	341,522	$	0.46
Effect of dilutive share-based awards			3,410					3,871
Diluted earnings per share	$	213,415	339,490	$	0.63	$	156,969	345,393	$	0.45

Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share is determined based on the dilutive effect of stock options using the treasury stock method.

Options to purchase shares of common stock that were outstanding at the end of the respective periods, but were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share because the effect of exercising such options would be antidilutive, were 0.5 million and 0.4 million in the 2012 and 2011 periods, respectively.