Earnings Per Share

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

The calculations of earnings per share are as follows:



	Three Months Ended March 31,
($ and shares in millions except per share amounts)	2019		2018
Net income attributable to Merck & Co., Inc.	$	2,915	$	736
Average common shares outstanding	2,585		2,695
Common shares issuable ⁽¹⁾	18		15
Average common shares outstanding assuming dilution	2,603		2,710
Basic earnings per common share attributable to Merck & Co., Inc. common shareholders	$	1.13	$	0.27
Earnings per common share assuming dilution attributable to Merck & Co., Inc. common shareholders	$	1.12	$	0.27


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

For the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, 2 million and 14 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.