WEIGHTED AVERAGE COMMON SHARES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

17. WEIGHTED AVERAGE COMMON SHARES

The weighted average number of common shares used to compute basic and diluted net (loss) income per share for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 were as follows:


	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2012		2011		2010
	(In thousands)
Basic common shares outstanding		66,475		74,498		79,902
Common stock equivalents		—		—		948

Diluted common shares outstanding		66,475		74,498		80,850

Basic net (loss) income per share is calculated by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of shares assuming dilution. Dilutive common shares outstanding is computed using the Treasury Stock Method and reflects the additional shares that would be outstanding if dilutive stock options were exercised and restricted stock and restricted stock units were settled for common shares during the period.

Due to the fact that we reported a loss from continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, potential common stock equivalents are excluded from the diluted common shares outstanding calculation. Per FASB ASC Topic 260 – Earnings Per Share, an entity that reports discontinued operations shall use income or loss from continuing operations as the benchmark for calculating diluted common shares outstanding, and as such, we have zero common stock equivalents since these shares would have an anti-dilutive effect on our net income per share for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011. For the year ended December 31, 2010, certain unexercised stock option awards and unvested restricted stock awards are excluded from our computations of diluted earnings per share, as these shares were out-of-the-money and their effect would have been anti-dilutive. The anti-dilutive awards that were excluded from our computations of diluted earnings per share were 2.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2010.

In addition to the common stock issued upon the exercise of employee stock options and the granting of restricted stock, we issued approximately 0.2 million, 0.2 million and 0.1 million shares for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively, upon the purchase of common stock pursuant to our employee stock purchase plan.