Earnings Per Share

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

The calculations of earnings per share are as follows:



	Three Months Ended March 31,
($ and shares in millions except per share amounts)	2017		2016
Net income attributable to Merck & Co., Inc.	$	1,551	$	1,125
Average common shares outstanding	2,745		2,774
Common shares issuable ⁽¹⁾	21		21
Average common shares outstanding assuming dilution	2,766		2,795
Basic earnings per common share attributable to Merck & Co., Inc. common shareholders	$	0.56	$	0.41
Earnings per common share assuming dilution attributable to Merck & Co., Inc. common shareholders	$	0.56	$	0.40


⁽¹⁾	Issuable primarily under share-based compensation plans.

For the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, 2 million and 10 million, respectively, of common shares issuable under share-based compensation plans were excluded from the computation of earnings per common share assuming dilution because the effect would have been antidilutive.