Earnings per Share

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

18. Earnings per Share

The following table sets forth a reconciliation of the information used in computing basic and diluted earnings per share:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2017		2016		2015
Net earnings from continuing operations	$	811,665	$	508,892	$	595,881
Earnings from discontinued operations, net	—		—		273,948
Net earnings	$	811,665	$	508,892	$	869,829
Basic earnings per common share:
Net earnings from continuing operations	$	5.21	$	3.28	$	3.78
Earnings from discontinued operations, net	$	—	$	—	$	1.74
Net earnings	$	5.21	$	3.28	$	5.52

Weighted average basic shares outstanding	155,685,000		155,231,000		157,619,000
Diluted earnings per common share:
Net earnings from continuing operations	$	5.15	$	3.25	$	3.74
Earnings from discontinued operations, net	$	—	$	—	$	1.72
Net earnings	$	5.15	$	3.25	$	5.46

Weighted average diluted shares outstanding	157,744,000		156,636,000		159,172,000

The following table is a reconciliation of the share amounts used in computing earnings per share:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2017	2016	2015
Weighted average shares outstanding - Basic	155,685,000	155,231,000	157,619,000
Dilutive effect of assumed exercise of SARs and vesting of performance shares and RSUs	2,059,000	1,405,000	1,553,000
Weighted average shares outstanding - Diluted	157,744,000	156,636,000	159,172,000

Diluted earnings per share amounts are computed using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding and, if dilutive, potential common shares outstanding during the period. Potential common shares consist of the incremental common shares issuable upon the exercise of SARs and vesting of performance shares and RSUs, as determined using the treasury stock method. For the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, the weighted average number of anti-dilutive potential common shares excluded from the calculation above totaled 79,756, 6,799 and 25,313, respectively.