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Shareholders’ equity and earnings per share
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Equity [Abstract]  
Shareholders' equity and earnings per share Shareholders’ equity and earnings per share
Share repurchases
On April 20, 2021, the Board authorized the repurchase of the Company’s common stock in an aggregate amount of up to $350,000. A total of $137,972 remained available for share repurchases under this authorization as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023.
No shares were purchased under this authorization during 2023 or 2022. The following transactions occurred during 2021:
•On May 6, 2021, the Company repurchased approximately 53,500 shares for $3,615 from a private stockholder based upon the average closing stock price on that day.
•On May 10, 2021, the Company entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement (“ASR Agreement”) with a financial institution to repurchase outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock. In exchange for an upfront payment of $150,000, which was funded with available cash on hand, the financial institution delivered 1,751,825 initial shares to the Company, representing 80% of the expected number of shares to be repurchased during the repurchase period based upon an estimated average repurchase price of $68.50 per share. The initial shares received were retired by the Company. The final number of shares repurchased and retired was based on the Company’s volume-weighted average share price during the repurchase period, less a discount and subject to certain adjustments.
•Pursuant to the ASR Agreement, the financial institution elected to accelerate the settlement of the transaction in two tranches. On July 21, 2021, the financial institution transferred 167,743 additional shares to the Company based upon an effective settlement price of $66.52 and a notional value of $50,000, or one third of the total $150,000 prepayment. On July 26, 2021, the financial institution transferred 336,996 additional shares to the Company upon full settlement of the remaining $100,000 notional value of the transaction at the final settlement price of $66.45.
•On October 25, 2021, the Company entered into a Rule 10b5-1 Repurchase Plan with a financial institution to repurchase outstanding shares of the Company's common stock pursuant to its Board authorization. The Company repurchased and retired 976,191 shares for $58,413 prior to the termination of the trading period on November 23, 2021.
The costs of these share repurchases were allocated to “Capital in excess of stated value” on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheet as of the fiscal period ended December 31, 2021.
The Company occasionally repurchases shares of its common stock to satisfy employee tax withholding obligations in association with the exercise of SARs, RSUs, and PCSUs. These repurchases, which are not part of a publicly announced plan or program, totaled 175,665 shares during 2023, 79,347 shares during 2022, and 99,824 shares during 2021, at a cost of $10,617, $4,547 and $6,057, respectively.
Earnings per share
The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings/(loss) per share (in thousands, except per share data):
202320222021
Numerator:
Net income/(loss) attributable to Sonoco$474,959 $466,437 $(85,477)
Denominator:
Weighted average common shares outstanding98,294 97,991 99,608 
Dilutive effect of share-based compensation596 741 — 
Diluted outstanding shares98,890 98,732 99,608 
Per common share:
Income/(Loss) available to common shareholders:
Basic$4.83 $4.76 $(.86)
Diluted$4.80 $4.72 $(.86)
Cash dividends$2.02 $1.92 $1.80 
No adjustments were made to “Net income/(loss) attributable to Sonoco” in the computations of net income/(loss) attributable to Sonoco per common share.
Anti-dilutive securities
Potentially dilutive securities are calculated in accordance with the treasury stock method, which assumes the proceeds from the exercise of all dilutive SARs are used to repurchase the Company’s common stock. Certain SARs are not dilutive because either the exercise price is greater than the average market price of the stock during the reporting period or assumed repurchases from proceeds from the exercise of the SARs were anti-dilutive.
The average number of shares that were not dilutive and therefore not included in the computation of diluted income/ (loss) per share was as follows for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 (in thousands):
202320222021
Anti-dilutive stock appreciation rights352 373 202 
These SARs may become dilutive in future periods if the market price of the Company’s common stock appreciates.
Diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average shares outstanding, assuming all dilutive potential common shares were issued, unless doing so is anti-dilutive. Such securities have an anti-dilutive impact in those periods in which a loss is reported. Diluted net loss per share of common stock for the year ended December 31, 2021 is the same as basic net loss per share because otherwise dilutive securities are excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share. The number of potentially dilutive securities excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share during the year ended December 31, 2021 was 470.
Noncontrolling interests
In April 2015, the Company acquired a 67% controlling interest in Graffo Paranaense de Embalagens S/A (“Graffo”). Prior to March 31, 2022, the Company consolidated 100% of Graffo, with the partner's 33% share included in “Noncontrolling Interests” within the equity section of the balance sheet. On March 31, 2022, the Company paid $14,474 in cash to acquire the remaining 33% ownership interest from the three noncontrolling partners, which resulted in a $6,116 reduction in noncontrolling interest, a $7,080 charge to capital in excess of stated value, and a $1,278 reduction to accrued expenses and other on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheet.