Earnings per share

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

The computation of basic earnings per share (EPS) is based on the weighted-average number of our common shares outstanding. The computation of diluted EPS is based on the weighted-average number of our common shares outstanding and dilutive potential common shares, which include primarily shares that may be issued under our stock option, restricted stock and performance unit award programs, as determined by using the treasury stock method (collectively, dilutive securities).

The computations for basic and diluted EPS were as follows (in millions, except per-share data):



	Three months ended September 30,				Nine months ended September 30,
	2018		2017		2018		2017
Income (Numerator):
Net income for basic and diluted EPS	$	1,859	$	2,021	$	6,466	$	6,243

Shares (Denominator):
Weighted-average shares for basic EPS	645		728		669		733
Effect of dilutive securities	4		5		4		5
Weighted-average shares for diluted EPS	649		733		673		738

Basic EPS	$	2.88	$	2.78	$	9.67	$	8.52
Diluted EPS	$	2.86	$	2.76	$	9.61	$	8.46

For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, the number of anti-dilutive employee stock-based awards excluded from the computation of diluted EPS was not significant.