Earnings Per Share

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2015

NOTE 7 – EARNINGS PER SHARE

The following table illustrates the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 (in thousands, except per share data):



	For the Three Months Ended June 30,				For the Six Months Ended June 30,
	2015		2014		2015		2014
Numerator (basic and diluted):
Net income	$	233,508	$	205,647	$	446,372	$	379,507

Denominator:
Denominator for basic earnings per share - weighted-average shares	100,547		105,772		101,078		105,982
Effect of stock options ⁽¹⁾	1,562		1,784		1,606		1,835
Denominator for diluted earnings per share - weighted-average shares	102,109		107,556		102,684		107,817

Earnings per share:
Earnings per share-basic	$	2.32	$	1.94	$	4.42	$	3.58
Earnings per share-assuming dilution	$	2.29	$	1.91	$	4.35	$	3.52

Antidilutive potential common shares not included in the calculation of diluted earnings per share:
Stock options ⁽¹⁾	226		305		312		336
Weighted-average exercise price per share of antidilutive stock options ⁽¹⁾	$	206.72	$	137.82	$	200.65	$	137.35


⁽¹⁾	See Note 6 for further discussion on the terms of the Company's share-based compensation plans.

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, the computation of diluted earnings per share did not include certain securities. These securities represent underlying stock options not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share, because the inclusion of such equity awards would have been antidilutive.

Subsequent to the end of the second quarter and through August 7, 2015, the Company repurchased 0.2 million shares of its common stock, at an average price of $231.47, for a total investment of $57.2 million.