Financial Instruments

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

The carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents, accounts and notes receivable, and accounts payable approximates fair value. Sprint did not hold any short-term investments as of March 31, 2016. Short-term investments (consisting primarily of commercial paper), totaling approximately $166 million as of March 31, 2015, are recorded at amortized cost, and the respective carrying amounts approximate fair value. The fair value of marketable equity securities totaling $46 million and $40 million as of the periods ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, are measured on a recurring basis using quoted prices in active markets.

The estimated fair value of the majority of our current and long-term debt, excluding our credit facilities and future lease receivables, is determined based on quoted prices in active markets or by using other observable inputs that are derived principally from, or corroborated by, observable market data.

The following table presents carrying amounts and estimated fair values of current and long-term debt:



	Carrying amount at March 31, 2016		Estimated Fair Value Using Input Type
	Carrying amount at March 31, 2016		Quoted prices in active markets		Observable		Unobservable		Total estimated fair value
	(in millions)
Current and long-term debt	$	33,645	$	21,757	$	4,474	$	2,130	$	28,361



	Carrying amount at March 31, 2015		Estimated Fair Value Using Input Type
	Carrying amount at March 31, 2015		Quoted prices in active markets		Observable		Unobservable		Total estimated fair value
	(in millions)
Current and long-term debt	$	33,245	$	27,238	$	4,906	$	1,410	$	33,554

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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