Earnings Per Common Share

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Earnings per Common Share

Basic earnings per common share (“EPS”) are calculated using the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during each period. The determination of the weighted-average shares and diluted potential common shares for pre-Spin-Off periods are based on the activity at pre-Spin-Off SLM. A reconciliation of the numerators and denominators of the basic and diluted EPS calculations follows.



	Years Ended December 31,
(In thousands, except per share data)	2016		2015		2014
Numerator:
Net income attributable to SLM Corporation	$	250,327	$	274,284	$	194,219
Preferred stock dividends	21,204		19,595		12,933
Net income attributable to SLM Corporation common stock	$	229,123	$	254,689	$	181,286
Denominator:
Weighted average shares used to compute basic EPS	427,876		425,574		423,970
Effect of dilutive securities:
Dilutive effect of stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units and Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾	5,043		6,660		8,299
Weighted average shares used to compute diluted EPS	432,919		432,234		432,269

Basic earnings per common share attributable to SLM Corporation	$	0.54	$	0.60	$	0.43

Diluted earnings per common share attributable to SLM Corporation	$	0.53	$	0.59	$	0.42

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⁽¹⁾	Includes the potential dilutive effect of additional common shares that are issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, and the outstanding commitment to issue shares under the ESPP, determined by the treasury stock method.


⁽²⁾	For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, securities covering approximately 1 million, 2 million and 3 million shares, respectively, were outstanding but not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share because they were anti-dilutive.