Earnings Per Share

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

NOTE 7 – EARNINGS PER SHARE

The following table illustrates the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015 (in thousands, except per share data):



	For the Three Months Ended September 30,				For the Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2016		2015		2016		2015
Numerator (basic and diluted):
Net income	$	278,493	$	266,268	$	791,661	$	712,640

Denominator:
Weighted-average common shares outstanding – basic	94,891		99,270		95,994		100,468
Effect of stock options ⁽¹⁾	1,229		1,500		1,315		1,573
Weighted-average common shares outstanding – assuming dilution	96,120		100,770		97,309		102,041

Earnings per share:
Earnings per share-basic	$	2.93	$	2.68	$	8.25	$	7.09
Earnings per share-assuming dilution	$	2.90	$	2.64	$	8.14	$	6.98

Antidilutive potential common shares not included in the calculation of diluted earnings per share:
Stock options ⁽¹⁾	271		176		319		256
Weighted-average exercise price per share of antidilutive stock options ⁽¹⁾	$	267.66	$	218.21	$	264.88	$	210.49


⁽¹⁾	See Note 6 for further information concerning the terms of the Company’s share-based compensation plans.

For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, 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 third quarter and through November 8, 2016, the Company repurchased an additional 0.6 million shares of its common stock, at an average price of $269.29, for a total investment of $169.9 million.