Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

(4)

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value measurements enable the reader of the financial statements to assess the inputs used to develop those measurements by establishing a hierarchy for ranking the quality and reliability of the information used to determine fair values. The Company classifies and discloses assets and liabilities carried at fair value in one of the following three categories:

Level 1: Quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2: Observable market-based inputs or unobservable inputs that are corroborated by market data.

Level 3: Unobservable inputs that are not corroborated by market data.

Fair Value of Cash Equivalents and Marketable Securities

The fair values of the Company’s cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities are based on quoted prices in active markets for identical assets.

Fair Value of Investments

The Company holds a non-controlling interest in DPC Dash, the Company’s master franchisee in China that owns and operates Domino’s Pizza stores in that market.

As of December 31, 2023, the fair value of the Company’s investment in DPC Dash is based on the active exchange quoted price for the equity security of HK$61.95 per share. The Company recorded a total net adjustment to the carrying amount of its investment in DPC Dash of $17.7 million in 2023, with the gain recorded in other income in its consolidated statements of income. As of January 1, 2023, the fair value of the Company’s investment in DPC Dash was not readily determinable and was categorized in Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. The Company did not record any adjustments to the carrying amount of its investment in 2022. In 2021, the Company recorded positive adjustments of $2.5 million and $34.3 million resulting from the observable change in price from the valuation of the additional investments made by the Company during the 2021 fiscal year. The Company transferred its investment from Level 3 to Level 1 on March 28, 2023, concurrent with DPC Dash’s initial public offering.

The following table summarizes the carrying amounts and fair values of certain assets at December 31, 2023:


	At December 31, 2023
			Fair Value Estimated Using
	Carrying		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	Amount		Inputs		Inputs		Inputs
Cash equivalents	$	50,732	$	50,732	$	—	$	—
Restricted cash equivalents		133,063		133,063		—		—
Investments in marketable securities		16,720		16,720		—		—
Advertising fund cash equivalents, restricted		69,199		69,199		—		—
Investment in DPC Dash		143,553		143,553		—		—

The following table summarizes the carrying amounts and fair values of certain assets at January 1, 2023:


	At January 1, 2023
			Fair Value Estimated Using
	Carrying		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	Amount		Inputs		Inputs		Inputs
Cash equivalents	$	23,779	$	23,779	$	—	$	—
Restricted cash equivalents		117,212		117,212		—		—
Investments in marketable securities		13,395		13,395		—		—
Advertising fund cash equivalents, restricted		124,496		124,496		—		—
Investment in DPC Dash		125,840		—		—		125,840

Fair Value of Debt

The estimated fair values of the Company’s Notes (Note 3) are classified as Level 2 measurements, as the Company estimates the fair value amount by using available market information. The Company obtained quotes from two separate brokerage firms that are knowledgeable about the Company’s Notes and, at times, trade these Notes. The Company also performed its own internal analysis based on the information gathered from public markets, including information on notes that are similar to those of the Company. However, considerable judgment is required to interpret market data to estimate fair value. Accordingly, the fair value estimates presented are not necessarily indicative of the amount that the Company or the noteholders could realize in a current market exchange. The use of different assumptions and/or estimation methodologies may have a material effect on the estimated fair values stated below.

Management estimated the approximate fair values of the Notes as follows:


	December 31, 2023				January 1, 2023
	Principal Amount		Fair Value		Principal Amount		Fair Value
2015 Ten-Year Notes	$	744,000	$	727,632	$	752,000	$	717,408
2017 Ten-Year Notes		942,500		895,375		952,500		875,348
2018 7.5-Year Notes		403,750		392,041		408,000		385,968
2018 9.25-Year Notes		380,000		365,180		384,000		355,584
2019 Ten-Year Notes		649,688		591,865		656,438		564,536
2021 7.5-Year Notes		828,750		730,958		837,250		695,755
2021 Ten-Year Notes		975,000		830,700		985,000		792,925

The Company did not have any outstanding borrowings under its variable funding notes at December 31, 2023 or January 1, 2023.

- 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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