Earnings Per Share

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

NOTE 9 – EARNINGS PER SHARE

The following table illustrates the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 (in thousands, except per share data):



	For the Three Months Ended March 31,
	2019		2018
Numerator (basic and diluted):
Net income	$	321,152	$	304,906

Denominator:
Weighted-average common shares outstanding – basic	78,484		83,530
Effect of stock options ⁽¹⁾	813		993
Weighted-average common shares outstanding – assuming dilution	79,297		84,523

Earnings per share:
Earnings per share-basic	$	4.09	$	3.65
Earnings per share-assuming dilution	$	4.05	$	3.61

Antidilutive potential common shares not included in the calculation of diluted earnings per share:
Stock options ⁽¹⁾	176		761
Weighted-average exercise price per share of antidilutive stock options ⁽¹⁾	$	347.98	$	259.28


⁽¹⁾	See Note 8 for further information concerning the terms of the Company’s share-based compensation plans.

For the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, 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 first quarter and through May 6, 2019, the Company repurchased an additional 0.1 million shares of its common stock under its share repurchase program, at an average price of $377.59, for a total investment of $52.1 million.