Weighted Average Shares Outstanding

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Weighted Average Number Of Shares Outstanding [Text Block]

NOTE J – WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in millions)	2018	2017
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic	1,376.5	1,365.4
Net effect of common stock equivalents	20.2	24.8
Weighted average shares outstanding - assuming dilution	1,396.8	1,390.2

The impact of stock options outstanding with exercise prices greater than the average fair market value of our common stock was immaterial for all periods presented.

We issued approximately six million shares of our common stock in the first quarter of 2018 and seven million shares of our common stock in the first quarter of 2017, following the exercise of underlying stock options, vesting of deferred stock units or purchases under our employee stock purchase plan. We did not repurchase any shares of our common stock during the first three months of2018 or 2017.