XML 77 R14.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v2.4.1.9
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]  
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
 
Financial assets and liabilities are carried at fair value as of December 31, 2014 and are classified in the categories described in the tables below (in thousands):

 
 
Level 1
 
Level 2
 
Total
ASSETS:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cash equivalents:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Money market funds
 
$
155,608

 
$

 
$
155,608

Foreign government securities
 

 
974,855

 
974,855

U.S. government securities
 

 
676,503

 
676,503

U.S. commercial paper
 

 
427,884

 
427,884

U.S. government agency securities
 

 
10,000

 
10,000

Short-term investments:
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Foreign government securities
 

 
52,490

 
52,490

  U.S. government securities
 

 
364,266

 
364,266

U.S. commercial paper
 

 
620,615

 
620,615

U.S. government agency securities
 

 
104,811

 
104,811

Foreign exchange derivatives
 

 
336

 
336

Long-term investments:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Foreign government securities
 

 
12,671

 
12,671

U.S. government securities
 

 
556,448

 
556,448

U.S. corporate debt securities
 

 
2,329,033

 
2,329,033

U.S. government agency securities
 

 
95,094

 
95,094

U.S. municipal securities
 

 
1,102

 
1,102

Ctrip corporate debt securities
 

 
425,961

 
425,961

Ctrip equity securities
 
335,344

 

 
335,344

Total assets at fair value
 
$
490,952

 
$
6,652,069

 
$
7,143,021


 
 
Level 1
 
Level 2
 
Total
LIABILITIES:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Foreign exchange derivatives
 
$

 
$
129

 
$
129



Financial assets and liabilities are carried at fair value as of December 31, 2013 and are classified in the categories described in the tables below (in thousands):
 
 
 
Level 1
 
Level 2
 
Total
ASSETS:
 
 

 
 

 
 

Cash equivalents:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Money market funds
 
$
433,850

 
$

 
$
433,850

Foreign government securities
 

 
238,202

 
238,202

U.S. government securities
 

 
28,000

 
28,000

Short-term investments:
 
 

 
 

 
 

Foreign government securities
 

 
4,019,407

 
4,019,407

U.S. government securities
 

 
1,443,313

 
1,443,313

Foreign exchange derivatives
 

 
292

 
292

Total assets at fair value
 
$
433,850

 
$
5,729,214

 
$
6,163,064

 
 
 
Level 1
 
Level 2
 
Total
LIABILITIES:
 
 

 
 

 
 

Foreign exchange derivatives
 
$

 
$
122,091

 
$
122,091


 
 
There are three levels of inputs to measure fair value.  The definition of each input is described below:

Level 1:
Quoted prices in active markets that are accessible by the Company at the measurement date for identical assets and liabilities.

Level 2:
Inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly. Such prices may be based upon quoted prices for identical or comparable securities in active markets or inputs not quoted on active markets, but corroborated by market data.

Level 3:
Unobservable inputs are used when little or no market data is available.
 
Investments in corporate debt securities, sovereign debt, commercial paper, government agency securities and municipal securities are considered "Level 2" valuations because the Company has access to quoted prices, but does not have visibility to the volume and frequency of trading for all of these investments.  For the Company's investments, a market approach is used for recurring fair value measurements and the valuation techniques use inputs that are observable, or can be corroborated by observable data, in an active marketplace. 
 
The Company's derivative instruments are valued using pricing models.  Pricing models take into account the contract terms as well as multiple inputs where applicable, such as interest rate yield curves, option volatility and currency rates. Derivatives are considered "Level 2" fair value measurements. The Company's derivative instruments are typically short-term in nature.

As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, the Company's cash consisted of bank deposits and cash held in investment accounts.  Other financial assets and liabilities, including restricted cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses and deferred merchant bookings are carried at cost which approximates their fair value because of the short-term nature of these items.  See Note 4 for information on the carrying value of investments and Note 11 for the estimated fair value of the Company's Senior Convertible Notes.
 
In the normal course of business, the Company is exposed to the impact of foreign currency fluctuations.  The Company limits these risks by following established risk management policies and procedures, including the use of derivatives.  See Note 2 for further information on our accounting policy for derivative financial instruments.
 
Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instruments — The Company is exposed to adverse movements in currency exchange rates as the operating results of its international operations are translated from local currency into U.S. Dollars upon consolidation.  The Company's derivative contracts principally address short-term foreign exchange fluctuations for the Euro and British Pound Sterling versus the U.S. Dollar. As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, there were no outstanding derivative contracts related to foreign currency translation risk. Foreign exchange gains of $13.7 million, $0.3 million and $0.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively, were recorded related to these derivatives in "Foreign currency transactions and other" in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

The Company also enters into foreign currency forward contracts to hedge its exposure to the impact of movements in currency exchange rates on its transactional balances denominated in currencies other than the functional currency. Foreign exchange derivatives outstanding as of December 31, 2014 associated with foreign currency transaction risks resulted in a net asset of $0.2 million, with an asset in the amount of $0.3 million recorded in "Prepaid expenses and other current assets" and a liability in the amount of $0.1 million recorded in "Accrued expenses and other current liabilities" on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.  Foreign exchange derivatives outstanding at December 31, 2013 associated with foreign exchange transaction risks resulted in a net liability of $0.5 million, with a liability in the amount of $0.6 million recorded in "Accrued expenses and other current liabilities" and an asset in the amount of $0.1 million recorded in "Prepaid and other current assets" on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Derivatives associated with these transaction risks resulted in foreign exchange losses of $21.8 million compared to foreign exchange gains of $3.6 million and $0.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. These mark-to-market adjustments on the derivative contracts, offset by the effect of changes in currency exchange rates on transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency, resulted in net losses of $11.8 million, $5.5 million and $5.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. These net impacts are reported in “Foreign currency transactions and other” on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
 
The settlement of derivative contracts not designated as hedging instruments for the year ended December 31, 2014 resulted in a net cash outflow of $8.9 million, compared to net cash inflows of $4.4 million and $1.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, and were reported within "Net cash provided by operating activities" on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.
 
Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments — The Company had no foreign currency forward contracts designated as hedges of its net investment in a foreign subsidiary outstanding as of December 31, 2014. As of December 31, 2013, the Company had outstanding foreign currency forward contracts with a notional value of 3.0 billion Euros to hedge a portion of its net investment in a foreign subsidiary.  These contracts were all short-term in nature.  Hedge ineffectiveness is assessed and measured based on changes in forward exchange rates.  The fair value of these derivatives at December 31, 2013 was a net liability of $121.3 million, with a liability in the amount of $121.5 million recorded in "Accrued expenses and other current liabilities" and an asset in the amount of $0.2 million recorded in "Prepaid expenses and other current assets" on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. These hedging instruments generated net cash outflows of $80.3 million and $78.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, compared to a net cash inflows of $82.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, and were reported within "Net cash used in investing activities" on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.