7 Earnings per share


	2019		2018		2017
Earnings attributable to BHP shareholders (US$M)
- Continuing operations		8,648		6,652		6,375
- Total		8,306		3,705		5,890
Weighted average number of shares (Million)
- Basic		5,180		5,323		5,323
- Diluted		5,193		5,337		5,336
Basic earnings per ordinary share (US cents)
- Continuing operations		166.9		125.0		119.8
- Total		160.3		69.6		110.7
Diluted earnings per ordinary share (US cents)
- Continuing operations		166.5		124.6		119.5
- Total		159.9		69.4		110.4

Refer to note 27 ‘Discontinued operations’ for basic earnings per share and diluted earnings per share for Discontinued operations.

Earnings on American Depositary Shares represent twice the earnings for BHP Group Limited or BHP Group Plc ordinary shares.

Recognition and measurement

Diluted earnings attributable to BHP shareholders are equal to the earnings attributable to BHP shareholders.

The calculation of the number of ordinary shares used in the computation of basic earnings per share is the aggregate of the weighted average number of ordinary shares of BHP Group Limited and BHP Group Plc outstanding during the period after deduction of the number of shares held by the Billiton Employee Share Ownership Trust and the BHP Billiton Limited Employee Equity Trust.

For the purposes of calculating diluted earnings per share, the effect of 13 million dilutive shares has been taken into account for the year ended 30 June 2019 (2018: 14 million shares; 2017: 13 million shares). The Group’s only potential dilutive ordinary shares are share awards granted under the employee share ownership plans for which terms and conditions are described in note 23 ‘Employee share ownership plans’. Diluted earnings per share calculation excludes instruments which are considered antidilutive.

At 30 June 2019, there are no instruments which are considered antidilutive (2018: nil; 2017: nil).