Fair Value of Financial Assets and Liabilities

12 Months Ended

Jan. 25, 2015

Notes to financial statements [Abstract]

Fair Value of Financial Assets and Liabilities

Financial assets measured at fair value

We measure our cash equivalents and marketable securities at fair value. The fair values of our financial assets and liabilities are determined using quoted market prices of identical assets or quoted market prices of similar assets from active markets. Our Level 1 assets consist of our money market funds. We classify securities within Level 1 assets when the fair value is obtained from real time quotes for transactions in active exchange markets involving identical assets. Our available-for-sale securities are classified as having Level 2 inputs. Our Level 2 assets are valued utilizing a market approach where the market prices of similar assets are provided by a variety of independent industry standard data providers to our investment custodian. We review the fair value hierarchy classification on a quarterly basis. Changes in the observability of valuation inputs may result in a reclassification of levels for certain securities within the fair value hierarchy. There were no significant transfers between Levels 1 and 2 assets for the year ended January 25, 2015. Level 3 assets are based on unobservable inputs to the valuation methodology and include our own data about assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on the best information available under the circumstances. Most of our cash equivalents and marketable securities are valued based on Level 2 inputs. We did not have any investments classified as Level 3 as of January 25, 2015.

Financial assets measured at fair value are summarized below:



			Fair Value Measurement at Reporting Date Using
			Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets		Significant Other Observable Inputs
	January 25, 2015		(Level 1)		(Level 2)
	(In thousands)
Debt securities of United States government agencies (1)	$	750,320	$	—	$	750,320
Corporate debt securities (2)	2,186,311		—		2,186,311
Mortgage backed securities issued by United States government-sponsored enterprises (3)	278,105		—		278,105
Money market funds (4)	132,495		132,495		—
Debt securities issued by United States Treasury (3)	536,364		—		536,364
Asset-backed securities (3)	452,884		—		452,884
Foreign government bonds (3)	84,916		—		84,916
Total assets	$	4,421,395	$	132,495	$	4,288,900


(1)	Includes $15.0 million in Cash Equivalents and $735.3 million in Marketable Securities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.


(2)	Includes $147.2 million in Cash Equivalents and $2.0 billion in Marketable Securities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.


(3)	Included in Marketable Securities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.


(4)	Included in Cash Equivalents on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

Financial liabilities measured at fair value

We issued $1.50 billion Convertible Senior Notes, or Notes, in December 2013. The Notes are carried at their original issuance value, net of unamortized debt discount, and are not marked to market each period. The estimated fair value of the Notes was $1,679.6 million and $1,528.4 million, respectively, as of January 25, 2015 and January 26, 2014. The estimated fair value of the Notes was determined on the basis of market prices observable for similar instruments and is considered Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. Please refer to Note 11 of these Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information regarding the Notes.

- 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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