Reference no: EM132522179

Question - Witter House is a calendar-year firm with 460 million common shares outstanding throughout 2018 and 2019. As part of its executive compensation plan, at January 1, 2017, the company had issued 40 million executive stock options permitting executives to buy 40 million shares of stock for $10 within the next eight years, but not prior to January 1, 2020. The fair value of the options was estimated on the grant date to be $3 per option.

In 2018, Witter House began granting employees stock awards rather than stock options as part of its equity compensation plans and granted 25 million restricted common shares to senior executives at January 1, 2018. The shares vest four years later. The fair value of the stock was $16 per share on the grant date. The average price of the common shares was $16 and $25 during 2018 and 2019, respectively.

The stock options qualify for tax purposes as an incentive plan. The restricted stock does not. The company's net income was $310 million and $320 million in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Its income tax rate is 40%.

Required -

1. Compute basic and diluted earnings per share for Witter House in 2018.

2. Compute basic and diluted earnings per share for Witter House in 2019.