Diluted shares is the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during a period, plus the shares that options, restricted stock units, warrants and convertible securities would add if they turned into shares and would reduce earnings per share. It is the denominator of diluted EPS.
How Listed shows it
As reported, under the XBRL concept WeightedAverageNumberOfDilutedSharesOutstanding, for each period the company reported it.
What it is not
- Not the shares outstanding today. The cover page of a 10-K or 10-Q gives the number of shares outstanding on a recent date. That is a count at one moment; diluted shares is an average over the period, with dilution added.
- Not additive. A year's diluted share count is weighted across the year. It is not the sum of the quarters, and Listed does not derive a Q4 figure from it.
Reading it
A falling share count usually means the company is buying back stock; a rising one means it is issuing stock, often to employees as pay. Item 5 of the 10-K and Part II, Item 2 of the 10-Q show buybacks.
When it says "not reported"
The company does not tag a diluted weighted average share count for the period, or uses a concept of its own.