Earnings Per Share

9 Months Ended

Sep. 25, 2015

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share (in thousands, except per share amounts):



	Thirteen Weeks Ended				Thirty-nine Weeks Ended
	Sep 25, 2015		Sep 26, 2014		Sep 25, 2015		Sep 26, 2014
Net earnings available to common shareholders	$	50,691	$	59,551	$	292,169	$	176,532
Weighted average shares outstanding for basic earnings per share	57,325		59,928		58,180		60,401
Dilutive effect of stock options computed using the treasury stock method and the average market price	1,339		1,614		1,410		1,602
Weighted average shares outstanding for diluted earnings per share	58,664		61,542		59,590		62,003
Basic earnings per share	$	0.88	$	0.99	$	5.02	$	2.92
Diluted earnings per share	$	0.86	$	0.97	$	4.90	$	2.85

Stock options to purchase 1,391,000 and 617,000 shares were not included in the September 25, 2015 and September 26, 2014 computations of diluted earnings per share, respectively, because they would have been anti-dilutive.

On May 11, 2015, the Company entered into an accelerated share repurchase arrangement (“ASR”) with a financial institution. In exchange for an up-front payment of$60 million, the financial institution delivered 742,880 shares of Company common stock with a fair value of $54 million. The total number of shares ultimately delivered under the ASR was determined at the end of the purchase period based on the volume weighted-average price of the Company’s common stock during that period. The purchase period ended in the third quarter and the Company received an additional 94,515 shares to complete the ASR at an average realized price of $71.65 per share.

The Company accounted for the up-front payment as a reduction of shareholders’ equity in the period made. Shares received under the ASR were retired and reflected as a reduction of outstanding shares on the date delivered for purposes of calculating earnings per share. The forward contract aspect of the ASR met all of the applicable criteria for equity classification, and therefore, was accounted for as a derivative indexed to the Company’s equity.