10-Q

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

☒ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended January 31, 2020

or

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from _____________________________________ to __________________________________

Commission File Number: 0-11306

VALUE LINE, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

New York	13-3139843
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
551 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York	10176-0001
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

(212) 907-1500

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading symbol	Name of each Exchange on which registered
Common stock, $0.10 par value per share	VALU	The Nasdaq Capital Market

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer ☐    Accelerated filer ☐    Non-accelerated filer ☒

Smaller reporting company ☐    Emerging growth company ☐       

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

      Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer's classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

Class	Outstanding at March 10, 2020
Common stock, $0.10 par value per share	9,636,471 shares

VALUE LINE, INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

		Page No.
	PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1.	Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements
	Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets as of January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019	3
	Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income for the three and nine months ended  January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019	4
	Consolidated Condensed Statements of Comprehensive Income for the three and nine months ended January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019	5
	Consolidated Condensed Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019	6
	Consolidated Condensed Statement of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity for the nine months ended January 31, 2020	7
	Consolidated Condensed Statement of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity for the nine months ended January 31, 2019	8
	Notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements	9
Item 2.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	20
Item 3.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	30
Item 4.	Controls and Procedures	32
	PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1.	Legal Proceedings	33
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	33
Item 2.	Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds	33
Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	33
Item 5.	Other Information	33
Item 6.	Exhibits	34
	Signatures	35

Part I - Financial Information

Item 1. Financial Statements

Value Line, Inc.

Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets

(in thousands, except share amounts)

	January 31,			April 30,
	2020			2019
	(unaudited)
Assets
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents (including short term investments of $2,739 and $5,617, respectively)	$	3,555		$	6,493
Securities available-for-sale		25,845			21,828
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $22 and $22, respectively		5,165			1,504
Prepaid and refundable income taxes		96			254
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		1,041			1,335
Total current assets		35,702			31,414
Long term assets:
Investment in EAM Trust		59,612			58,625
Restricted money market investment		469			469
Property and equipment, net		9,798			1,146
Capitalized software and other intangible assets, net		83			134
Total long term assets		69,962			60,374
Total assets	$	105,664		$	91,788
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	1,750		$	2,068
Accrued salaries		1,047			1,211
Dividends payable		1,928			1,933
Accrued taxes on income		-			180
Operating lease obligation		925			-
Unearned revenue		18,216			20,008
Total current liabilities		23,866			25,400
Long term liabilities:
Unearned revenue		5,480			5,475
Operating lease obligation		8,719			-
Deferred charges		-			765
Deferred income taxes		13,253			12,624
Total long term liabilities		27,452			18,864
Total liabilities		51,318			44,264
Shareholders' Equity:
Common stock, $0.10 par value; authorized 30,000,000 shares; issued 10,000,000 shares		1,000			1,000
Additional paid-in capital		991			991
Retained earnings		55,660			48,598
Treasury stock, at cost (360,455 and 336,439 shares, respectively)		(5,315	)		(4,743	)
Accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax		2,010			1,678
Total shareholders' equity		54,346			47,524
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity	$	105,664		$	91,788

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated condensed financial statements.

3

Part I - Financial Information

Item 1. Financial Statements

Value Line, Inc.

Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income

(in thousands, except share & per share amounts)

(unaudited)

	For the Three Months Ended				For the Nine Months Ended
	January 31,				January 31,
	2020		2019		2020		2019
Revenues:
Investment periodicals and related publications	$	7,108	$	7,201	$	21,090	$	21,755
Copyright fees		3,695		1,851		9,410		5,319
Total publishing revenues		10,803		9,052		30,500		27,074
Expenses:
Advertising and promotion		748		893		2,393		2,455
Salaries and employee benefits		4,523		4,417		13,299		13,164
Production and distribution		1,198		1,226		3,608		3,809
Office and administration		1,205		1,103		3,417		3,203
Total expenses		7,674		7,639		22,717		22,631
Income from operations		3,129		1,413		7,783		4,443
Revenues and profits interests in EAM Trust		3,455		2,210		9,384		6,865
Income from securities transactions, net		167		140		451		377
Income before income taxes		6,751		3,763		17,618		11,685
Income tax provision		1,799		1,312		4,765		2,828
Net income	$	4,952	$	2,451	$	12,853	$	8,857
Earnings per share, basic & fully diluted	$	0.51	$	0.25	$	1.33	$	0.91
Weighted average number of common shares		9,640,949		9,687,252		9,652,805		9,688,681

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated condensed financial statements.

4

Part I - Financial Information

Item 1. Financial Statements

Value Line, Inc.

Consolidated Condensed Statements of Comprehensive Income

(in thousands)

(unaudited)

	For the Three Months Ended					For the Nine Months Ended
	January 31,					January 31,
	2020			2019		2020		2019
Net income	$	4,952		$	2,451	$	12,853	$	8,857
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:
Change in unrealized gains (losses) on securities, net of taxes		(30	)		164		332		345
Other comprehensive income (loss)		(30	)		164		332		345
Comprehensive income	$	4,922		$	2,615	$	13,185	$	9,202

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated condensed financial statements.

5

Part I - Financial Information

Item 1. Financial Statements

Value Line, Inc.

Consolidated Condensed Statements of Cash Flows

(in thousands)

(unaudited)

	For the Nine Months Ended
	January 31,
	2020			2019
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	$	12,853		$	8,857
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization		202			287
Non-voting revenues interest in EAM Trust		(8,389	)		(6,060	)
Non-voting profits interest in EAM Trust		(995	)		(805	)
Distributions received from EAM Trust		8,397			6,785
Deferred income taxes		370			377
Deferred rent		78			(67	)
Other, net		-			(45	)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Unearned revenue		(1,787	)		(1,626	)
Accounts payable & accrued expenses		(318	)		(403	)
Accrued salaries		(164	)		(307	)
Accrued taxes on income		(182	)		1
Prepaid and refundable income taxes		158			231
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		294			95
Accounts receivable		(3,661	)		(1,953	)
Total adjustments		(5,997	)		(3,490	)
Net cash provided by operating activities		6,856			5,367
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of equity securities classified as available-for-sale		(1,716	)		-
Purchases of fixed income securities classified as available-for-sale		(6,931	)		(5,624	)
Proceeds from sales of fixed income securities classified as available-for-sale		5,223			4,638
Acquisition of property and equipment		(2	)		(6	)
Expenditures for capitalized software		-			(98	)
Net cash used in investing activities		(3,426	)		(1,090	)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Purchase of treasury stock at cost		(572	)		(331	)
Dividends paid		(5,796	)		(5,523	)
Net cash used in financing activities		(6,368	)		(5,854	)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents		(2,938	)		(1,577	)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period		6,962			6,410
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period	$	4,024		$	4,833

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated condensed financial statements.

6

Part I - Financial Information

Item 1. Financial Statements

Value Line, Inc.

Consolidated Condensed Statement of Changes in Shareholders' Equity

For the Nine Months Ended January 31, 2020

(in thousands, except share amounts)

(unaudited)

	Common stock				Additional paid-in		Treasury Stock						Retained			Accumulated Other Comprehensive
	Shares		Amount		capital		Shares			Amount			earnings			income		Total
Balance at April 30, 2019		10,000,000	$	1,000	$	991		(336,439	)	$	(4,743	)	$	48,598		$	1,678	$	47,524
Net income														12,853					12,853
Change in unrealized gains on securities, net of taxes																	332		332
Purchase of treasury stock								(24,016	)		(572	)							(572	)
Dividends declared														(5,791	)				(5,791	)
Balance at January 31, 2020		10,000,000	$	1,000	$	991		(360,455	)	$	(5,315	)	$	55,660		$	2,010	$	54,346

Dividends declared per share were $0.20 for each of the three months ending July 31, 2019, October 31, 2019 and January 31, 2020.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated condensed financial statements.

7

Part I - Financial Information

Item 1. Financial Statements

Value Line, Inc.

Consolidated Condensed Statement of Changes in Shareholders' Equity

For the Nine Months Ended January 31, 2019

(in thousands, except share amounts)

(unaudited)

	Common stock				Additional paid-in		Treasury Stock						Retained			Accumulated Other Comprehensive
	Shares		Amount		capital		Shares			Amount			earnings			income		Total
Balance at April 30, 2018		10,000,000	$	1,000	$	991		(308,380	)	$	(4,135	)	$	44,902		$	783	$	43,541
Net income														8,857					8,857
Change in unrealized gains on securities, net of taxes																	345		345
Purchase of treasury stock								(15,724	)		(331	)							(331	)
Dividends declared														(5,521	)				(5,521	)
Balance at January 31, 2019		10,000,000	$	1,000	$	991		(324,104	)	$	(4,466	)	$	48,238		$	1,128	$	46,891

Dividends declared per share were $0.19 for each of the three months ending July 31, 2018, October 31, 2018 and January 31, 2019.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated condensed financial statements.

8

Value Line, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

January 31, 2020

(Unaudited)

Note 1 - Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies:

Value Line, Inc. ("Value Line" or "VLI", and collectively with its subsidiaries, the “Company”) is incorporated in the State of New York.  The name "Value Line" as used to describe the Company, its products, and its subsidiaries, is a registered trademark of the Company.  The Company's core business is producing investment periodicals and their underlying research and making available certain Value Line copyrights, Value Line trademarks and Value Line Proprietary Ranking System results and other proprietary information, to third parties under written agreements for use in third-party managed and marketed investment products and for other purposes.  The Company maintains a significant investment in EULAV Asset Management ("EAM")  from which it receives payments in respect of the Company's non-voting revenues interest  and non-voting profits interest.   EAM was established to provide investment management services to the Value Line Mutual Funds ("Value Line Funds" or the "Funds").

The Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets as of January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019, which have been derived from the unaudited interim Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements and the audited Consolidated Financial Statements, respectively,  were prepared following the interim reporting requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  In the opinion of management, the accompanying Unaudited Interim Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements contain all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals except as noted below) considered necessary for a fair presentation.  This report should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and footnotes contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2019 filed with the SEC on July 25, 2019    (the “Form 10-K”).   Results of operations covered by this report may not be indicative of the results of operations for the entire year.

Use of Estimates:

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect certain reported amounts and disclosures. Accordingly, actual results may differ from those estimates.

Principles of Consolidation:

The Company follows the guidance in the Financial Accounting Standards Board's ("FASB") Topic 810 “Consolidation” to determine if it should consolidate its investment in a variable interest entity ("VIE"). A VIE is a legal entity in which either (i) equity investors do not have sufficient equity investment at risk to enable the entity to finance its activities independently or (ii) the equity holders at risk lack the obligation to absorb losses, the right to receive residual returns or the right to make decisions about the entity’s activities that most significantly affect the entity's economic performance.  A holder of a variable interest in a VIE is required to consolidate the entity if it is determined that it has a controlling financial interest in the VIE and is therefore the primary beneficiary.  The determination of a controlling financial interest in a VIE is based on a qualitative assessment to identify the variable interest holder, if any, that has (i) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance, and (ii) either the obligation to absorb losses of the entity or the right to receive benefits from the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE.  The accounting guidance requires the Company to perform an ongoing assessment of whether the Company is the primary beneficiary of a VIE and the Company has determined it is not the primary beneficiary of a VIE (see Note 3).

In accordance with FASB's Topic 810, the assets, liabilities, and results of operations of subsidiaries in which the Company has a controlling interest have been consolidated.  All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.  On December 23, 2010, the Company completed the Restructuring Transaction and deconsolidated the related affiliates in accordance with FASB's Topic 810.  As part of the Restructuring Transaction, the Company received a significant non-voting revenues interest (excluding distribution revenues) and a significant non-voting profits interest in the new entity, EULAV Asset Management, a Delaware statutory trust (“EAM” or “EAM Trust”).  The Company relied on the guidance in FASB's ASC Topics 323 and 810 in its determination not to consolidate its investment in EAM and to account for such investment under the equity method of accounting. The Company reports the amount it receives for its non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests as a separate line item below operating income in the Consolidated Condensed  Statements of Income.

Revenue Recognition:

Depending upon the product, subscription fulfillment for Value Line periodicals and related publications is available in print or digitally, via internet access.  The length of a subscription varies by product and offer received by the subscriber.  Generally, subscriptions are offered as annual subscriptions with the majority of subscriptions paid in advance.  Subscription revenues, net of discounts, are recognized ratably on a straight line basis when the product is served to the client over the life of the subscription.  Accordingly, the amount of subscription fees to be earned by fulfilling subscriptions after the date of the balance sheets are shown as unearned revenue within current and long-term liabilities.

Copyright fees are derived from providing certain Value Line trademarks and the Value Line Proprietary Ranking System results to third parties under written agreements for use in selecting securities for third party marketed products, including unit investment trusts, annuities and exchange traded funds ("ETFs").  The Company earns asset-based copyright fees upon delivery of the product to the customer as specified in the individual agreements.  Revenue is recognized monthly and received either quarterly or in advance over the term of the agreement and, because it is asset-based, will fluctuate as the market value of the underlying portfolio increases or decreases in value.

Investment in Unconsolidated Entities:

The Company accounts for its investment in its unconsolidated entity, EAM, using the equity method of accounting in accordance with FASB’s ASC 323.  The equity method is an appropriate means of recognizing increases or decreases measured by GAAP in the economic resources underlying the investments.  Under the equity method, an investor recognizes its share of the earnings or losses of an investee in the periods for which they are reported by the investee in its financial statements rather than in the period in which an investee declares a dividend or distribution. An investor adjusts the carrying amount of an investment for its share of the earnings or losses recognized by the investee.

9

Value Line, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

January 31, 2020

(Unaudited)

The Company’s “interests” in EAM, the investment adviser to and the sole member of the distributor of the Value Line Funds, consist of a "non-voting revenues interest" and a "non-voting profits interest" in EAM as defined in the EAM Trust Agreement.  The non-voting revenues interest entitles the Company to receive a range of 41% to 55%, based on the amount of EAM’s adjusted gross revenues, excluding EULAV Securities' distribution revenues (“Revenues Interest”).  The non-voting profits interest entitles the Company to receive 50% of EAM's profits, subject to certain limited adjustments as defined in the EAM Trust Agreement (“Profits Interest”).  The Revenues Interest and at least 90% of the Profits Interest are to be distributed each quarter to all interest holders of EAM, including Value Line.  Subsequent to the Restructuring Date, the Company's Revenues Interest in EAM excludes participation in the service and distribution fees of EAM's subsidiary EULAV Securities.  The Company reflects its non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM as non-operating income under the equity method of accounting subsequent to the Restructuring Transaction.  Although the Company does not have control over the operating and financial policies of EAM, pursuant to the EAM Trust Agreement, the Company has a contractual right to receive its share of EAM's revenues and profits.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements:

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842)”.  This ASU requires that, for leases longer than one year, a lessee recognize in the statements of financial position a right-of-use asset, representing the right to use the underlying asset for the lease term, and a lease liability, representing the liability to make lease payments. It also requires that for finance leases, a lessee recognize interest expense on the lease liability, separately from the amortization of the right-of-use asset in the statements of earnings, while for operating leases, such amounts should be recognized as a combined expense. The Company adopted this ASU in May 2019 under a modified retrospective approach (see Note 12).

In August 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-15, Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (a consensus of the Emerging Issues Task Force) (“ASU 2016-15”), effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The amendments in ASU 2016-15 address eight specific cash flow issues and apply to all entities that are required to present a statement of cash flows under ASC Topic 230, Statement of Cash Flows.  The Company has adopted ASU 2016-15 in the first quarter of fiscal 2019.

The FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)”, which requires an entity to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which it expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In addition, ASU No. 2014-09 requires disclosures of the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. ASU No. 2014-09 supersedes most existing U.S. GAAP revenue recognition principles, and it permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. ASU No. 2014-09 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those annual periods.  The Company has adopted ASU No. 2014-09 in the first quarter of fiscal 2019, which does not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated condensed financial statements and related disclosures.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, "Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230):  Restricted Cash (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force)", effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those annual periods.  This ASU requires that the reconciliation of the beginning-of-period and end-of-period amounts shown in the statement of cash flows include cash, cash equivalents and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents.     The Company has adopted ASU No. 2016-18 in the first quarter of fiscal 2019, which does not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated condensed financial statements and related disclosures.

On June 21, 2018, the United States Supreme Court reversed the 1992 ruling in Quill, which protected firms delivering items by common carrier into a state where it had no physical presence from having to collect sales tax in such state.  The Company has  integrated the effects of the various state laws into its operations and continues to do so.

Valuation of Securities:

The Company's securities classified as cash equivalents and available-for-sale consist of shares of money market funds that invest primarily in short-term U.S. Government securities and investments in equities including ETFs and are valued in accordance with the requirements of the Fair Value Measurements Topic of the FASB's ASC 820.  The securities classified as available-for-sale reflected in the Consolidated Balance Sheets are valued at market and unrealized gains and losses, net of applicable taxes, are reported as a separate component of shareholders' equity. Realized gains and losses on sales of the securities classified as available-for-sale are recorded in earnings as of the trade date and are determined on the identified cost method.

The Company classifies its securities available-for-sale as current assets to properly reflect its liquidity and to recognize the fact that it has liquid assets available-for-sale should the need arise.

Market valuations of securities listed on a securities exchange and ETF shares are based on the closing sales prices on the last business day of each month. The market value of the Company's fixed maturity U.S. Government debt securities is determined utilizing publicly quoted market prices.  Cash equivalents consist of investments in money market funds that invest primarily in U.S. Government securities valued in accordance with rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act.

10

Value Line, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

January 31, 2020

(Unaudited)

The Fair Value Measurements Topic of FASB's ASC defines fair value as the price that the Company would receive upon selling an investment in a timely transaction to an independent buyer in the principal or most advantageous market for the investment. The  Fair Value Measurements Topic established a three-tier hierarchy to maximize the use of observable market data and minimize the use of unobservable inputs and to establish classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes. Inputs refer broadly to the information that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk. Examples of risks include those inherent in a particular valuation technique used to measure fair value such as the risk inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. Inputs are classified as observable or unobservable. Observable inputs are inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the factors market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on the best information available in the circumstances.

The three-tier hierarchy of inputs is summarized in the three broad levels listed below.

Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical investments

Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.)

Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Company’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following summarizes the levels of fair value measurements of the Company’s investments:

	As of January 31, 2020
($ in thousands)	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Cash equivalents	$	2,739	$	-	$	-	$	2,739
Securities available-for-sale		25,845		-		-		25,845
	$	28,584	$	-	$	-	$	28,584

	As of April 30, 2019
($ in thousands)	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Cash equivalents	$	5,617	$	-	$	-	$	5,617
Securities available-for-sale		21,828		-		-		21,828
	$	27,445	$	-	$	-	$	27,445

The Company had no other financial instruments such as futures, forwards and swap contracts. For the periods ended January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019, there were no Level 2 nor Level 3 investments. The Company does not have any liabilities that are subject to fair value measurement.

Advertising expenses:

The Company expenses advertising costs as incurred.

Income Taxes:

The Company computes its income tax provision in accordance with the Income Tax Topic of the FASB's ASC.  Deferred tax liabilities and assets are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been reflected in the Consolidated Condensed  Financial Statements. Deferred tax liabilities and assets are determined based on the differences between the book values and the tax bases of particular assets and liabilities, using tax rates currently in effect for the years in which the differences are expected to reverse.  The Company adopted the provisions of ASU 2015-17, Income taxes (Topic 740) during the first quarter of fiscal 2018 and now classifies all deferred taxes as long-term liabilities on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.

The Income Tax Topic of the FASB's ASC establishes for all entities, a minimum threshold for financial statement recognition of the benefit of positions taken in filing tax returns (including whether an entity is taxable in a particular jurisdiction), and requires certain expanded tax disclosures.  As of January 31, 2020, management has reviewed the tax positions for the years still subject to tax audit under the statute of limitations, evaluated the implications, and determined that there is no material impact to the Company's financial statements.

Earnings per share:

Earnings per share are based on the weighted average number of shares of common stock and common stock equivalents outstanding during each period. Any shares that are reacquired during the period are weighted for the portion of the period that they are outstanding.  The Company does not have any potentially dilutive common shares from outstanding stock options, warrants, restricted stock, or restricted stock units.

Cash and Cash Equivalents:

For purposes of the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Cash Flows, the Company considers all cash held at banks and short term liquid investments with an original maturity of less than three months to be cash and cash equivalents. As of January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019, cash equivalents included $2,739,000 and $5,617,000, respectively, for amounts invested in money market mutual funds that invest in short term U.S. government securities.

11

Value Line, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

January 31, 2020

(Unaudited)

Note 2 - Investments:

Securities Available-for-Sale:

Investments held by the Company and its subsidiaries are classified as securities available-for-sale in accordance with FASB's ASC 320, Investments - Debt and Equity Securities.  All of the Company's securities classified as available-for-sale were readily marketable or had a maturity of twelve months or less and are classified as current assets on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.

Equity Securities:

Equity securities classified as available-for-sale on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets, consist of ETFs held for dividend yield that attempt to replicate the performance of certain equity indexes and ETFs that hold preferred shares primarily of financial institutions.

As of January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019, the aggregate cost of the equity securities classified as available-for-sale, which consist of investments in the SPDR Series Trust S&P Dividend ETF (SDY), First Trust Value Line Dividend Index ETF (FVD), INVESCO Financial Preferred ETF (PGF), Select Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), First Trust Value Line 100 ETF (FVL), ProShares Trust S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL), iShares Select Dividend ETF (DVY) and equity securities portfolio under EAM management held at Charles Schwab was  a combined total of $10,257,000 and $8,541,000, respectively, and the fair value was $12,861,000 and $10,622,000, respectively.

There were no sales or proceeds from sales of equity securities during the nine months ended January 31, 2020 or January 31, 2019.  The increase in gross unrealized gains on equity securities classified as available-for-sale of $523,000, net of deferred  taxes of $240,000 was included in Shareholders' Equity on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet at January 31, 2020.  The increase in gross unrealized gains on equity securities classified as available-for-sale of $404,000, net of deferred  taxes of $85,000 was included in Shareholders' Equity on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet at January 31, 2019.

The changes in the value of equity securities investments are recorded in Other Comprehensive Income in the Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements.  Realized gains and losses are recorded as of the trade date in the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income when securities are sold, mature or are redeemed.  As of January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019, accumulated other comprehensive income included unrealized  gains of $2,604,000 and $2,081,000, net of deferred taxes of $677,000 and $437,000, respectively.

The carrying value and fair value of securities available-for-sale at January 31, 2020 were as follows:

			Gross Unrealized
($ in thousands)	Cost		Holding Gains		Fair Value
ETFs and equities	$	10,257	$	2,604	$	12,861

The carrying value and fair value of securities available-for-sale at April 30, 2019 were as follows:

			Gross Unrealized
($ in thousands)	Cost		Holding Gains		Fair Value
ETFs - equities	$	8,541	$	2,081	$	10,622

Government Debt Securities (Fixed Income Securities):

Fixed income securities consist of certificates of deposits and securities issued by federal, state and local governments within the United States.  The aggregate cost and fair value at January 31, 2020 of fixed income securities classified as available-for-sale were as follows:

	Amortized		Gross Unrealized
($ in thousands)	Historical Cost		Holding Gains		Fair Value
Maturity
Due within 1 year	$	11,622	$	104	$	11,726
Due 1 year through 5 years		1,250		8		1,258
Total investment in government debt securities	$	12,872	$	112	$	12,984

The aggregate cost and fair value at April 30, 2019 of fixed income securities classified as available-for-sale were as follows:

	Amortized		Gross Unrealized
($ in thousands)	Historical Cost		Holding Gains		Fair Value
Maturity
Due within 1 year	$	6,913	$	33	$	6,946
Due 1 year through 5 years		4,250		10		4,260
Total investment in government debt securities	$	11,163	$	43	$	11,206

12

Value Line, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

January 31, 2020

(Unaudited)

Proceeds from maturities and sales of government debt securities classified as available-for-sale during the nine months ended January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019, were $5,223,000 and $4,638,000, respectively.  The increase in gross unrealized gains of $69,000 on fixed income securities classified as available-for-sale net of deferred income tax of $20,000, was included in Shareholders' Equity on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet as of January 31, 2020.  The increase in gross unrealized  gains of $34,000 on fixed income securities classified as available-for-sale net of deferred income tax of $8,000, was included in Shareholders' Equity on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet as of January 31, 2019.  As of January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019, accumulated other comprehensive income included unrealized  gains of $112,000 and $43,000, net of deferred taxes of $29,000  and $9,000, respectively.

The average yield on the Government debt securities classified as available-for-sale at January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019 was 2.30% and 2.09%, respectively.

Income from Securities Transactions:

Income from securities transactions was comprised of the following:

	Three Months Ended January 31,				Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020		2019		2020		2019
Dividend income	$	95	$	71	$	247	$	200
Interest income		66		55		203		139
Other		6		14		1		38
Total income from securities transactions, net	$	167	$	140	$	451	$	377

Investment in Unconsolidated Entities:

Equity Method Investment:

As of January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019, the Company's investment in EAM Trust on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets was $59,612,000 and $58,625,000, respectively.

The value of VLI’s investment in EAM at January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019 reflects the fair value of contributed capital of $55,805,000 at inception which included $5,820,000 of cash and liquid securities in excess of working capital requirements contributed to EAM’s capital account by VLI, plus VLI's share of non-voting revenues and non-voting profits from EAM less distributions, made quarterly to VLI by EAM, during the period subsequent to its initial investment through the dates of the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.

It is anticipated that EAM will have sufficient liquidity and earn enough profit to conduct its current and future operations such that EAM will not need additional funding.

The Company monitors its Investment in EAM Trust for impairment to determine whether an event or change in circumstances has occurred that may have a significant adverse effect on the fair value of the investment.  Impairment indicators include, but are not limited to the following: (a) a significant deterioration in the earnings performance, asset quality, or business prospects of the investee, (b) a significant adverse change in the regulatory, economic, or technological environment of the investee, (c) a significant adverse change in the general market condition of the industry in which the investee operates, or (d) factors that raise significant concerns about the investee’s ability to continue as a going concern such as negative cash flows, working capital deficiencies, or noncompliance with statutory capital and regulatory requirements.  EAM did not record any impairment losses for its assets during the fiscal years 2020 or 2019.

The components of EAM’s investment management operations, provided to the Company by EAM, were as follows:

	Three Months Ended January 31,				Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands) (unaudited)	2020		2019		2020		2019
Investment management fees earned from the Value Line Funds, net of waivers shown below	$	5,921	$	3,987	$	16,531	$	12,277
12b-1 fees and other fees, net of waivers shown below	$	2,210	$	1,625	$	6,275	$	5,056
Other income	$	89	$	109	$	147	$	153
Investment management fee waivers and reimbursements	$	15	$	108	$	233	$	329
12b-1 fee waivers	$	178	$	149	$	517	$	483
Value Line’s non-voting revenues interest	$	3,033	$	1,997	$	8,389	$	6,060
EAM's net income (1)	$	844	$	426	$	1,990	$	1,610

(1) Represents EAM's net income, after giving effect to Value Line’s non-voting revenues interest, but before distributions to voting profits interest holders and to the Company in respect of its 50% non-voting profits interest.

13

Value Line, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

January 31, 2020

(Unaudited)

	January 31,			April 30,
($ in thousands)	2020			2019
	(unaudited)
EAM's total assets	$	62,371		$	60,683
EAM's total liabilities (1)		(5,293	)		(3,547	)
EAM's total equity	$	57,078		$	57,136

(1) At January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019, EAM's total liabilities included a payable to VLI for its accrued non-voting revenues interest and non-voting profits interest of $3,413,000 and $2,420,000, respectively.

Note 3 - Variable Interest Entity

The Company retained a  non-voting revenues interest and a 50% non-voting profits interest in EAM, which was formed, as a result of the Restructuring Transaction on December 23, 2010, to carry on the asset management and mutual fund distribution businesses formerly conducted by the Company.  EAM is considered to be a VIE in relation to the Company.  The Company makes its determination for consolidation of EAM as a VIE based on a qualitative assessment of the purpose and design of EAM, the terms and characteristics of the variable interests in EAM, and the risks EAM is designed to originate and pass through to holders of variable interests.  Other than EAM, the Company does not have an interest in any other VIEs.

The Company has determined that it does not have a controlling financial interest in EAM because it does not have the power to direct the activities of EAM that most significantly impact its economic performance.  Value Line does not hold any voting stock of EAM and it does not have any involvement in the day-to-day activities or operations of EAM.  Although the EAM Trust Agreement provides Value Line with certain consent rights and contains certain restrictive covenants related to the activities of EAM, these are considered to be protective rights and therefore Value Line does not maintain control over EAM.

In addition, although EAM is expected to be profitable, there is a risk that it could operate at a loss.   While all of the profit interest shareholders in EAM are subject to variability based on EAM’s operations risk, Value Line’s non-voting revenues interest in EAM is a preferred interest in the revenues of EAM, rather than a profits interest in EAM, and Value Line accordingly believes it is subject to proportionately less risk than other holders of the profits interests.

The Company has not provided any explicit or implicit financial or other support to EAM other than what was contractually agreed to in the EAM Trust Agreement.  Value Line has no obligation to fund EAM in the future and, as a result, has no exposure to loss beyond its initial investment and any undistributed revenues and profits interests retained in EAM.  The following table presents the total assets of EAM, the maximum exposure to loss due to involvement with EAM, as well as the value of the assets and liabilities the Company has recorded on its Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets for its interest in EAM.

	Value Line
($ in thousands)	VIE Assets		Investment in EAM Trust (1)		Liabilities		Maximum Exposure to Loss
As of January 31, 2020 (unaudited)	$	62,371	$	59,612	$	-	$	59,612
As of April 30, 2019	$	60,683	$	58,625	$	-	$	58,625

(1)  Reported within Long-Term Assets on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.

Note 4 - Supplementary Cash Flows Information:

Reconciliation of Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash:

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash reported within the Consolidated Condensed Statement of Cash Flows that sum to the total of the same such amounts shown in the Consolidated Condensed Statement of Cash Flows.

	Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020		2019
Cash and cash equivalents	$	3,555	$	4,364
Restricted cash		469		469
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash shown in the Consolidated Condensed Statement of Cash Flows	$	4,024	$	4,833

Income Tax Payments:

The Company made income tax payments as follows:

	Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020		2019
State and local income tax payments	$	1,089	$	230
Federal income tax payments to the Parent		3,325		2,050

14

Value Line, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

January 31, 2020

(Unaudited)

Note 5 - Employees' Profit Sharing and Savings Plan:

Substantially all employees of the Company and its subsidiaries are members of the Value Line, Inc. Profit Sharing and Savings Plan (the "Plan").  In general, this is a qualified, contributory plan which provides for a discretionary annual Company contribution which is determined by a formula based on the salaries of eligible employees and the amount of consolidated net operating income as defined in the Plan. For the nine months ended January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019, the estimated profit sharing plan contributions, which are included as expenses in salaries and employee benefits in the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income, were $423,000 and $398,000, respectively.

Note 6 - Comprehensive Income:

The FASB's ASC Comprehensive Income topic requires the reporting of comprehensive income in addition to net income from operations.  Comprehensive income is a more inclusive financial reporting methodology that includes disclosure of certain financial information that otherwise would not be recognized in the calculation of net income.

As of January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019, the Company held equity securities consisting primarily of ETFs with high relative dividend yields that are classified as securities available-for-sale on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.  As of January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019, the Company also had fixed income securities consisting of certificates of deposits and securities issued by federal, state and local governments within the United States that are classified as securities available-for-sale on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.  The change in valuation of these securities, net of deferred income taxes, has been recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income in the Company's Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.

The components of comprehensive income included in the Consolidated  Condensed Statements of Income and Changes in Shareholders' Equity for the nine months ended January 31, 2020 are as follows:

($ in thousands)	Amount Before Tax		Tax Expense			Amount Net of Tax
Change in unrealized gains on securities	$	592	$	(260	)	$	332
	$	592	$	(260	)	$	332

The components of comprehensive income included in the Consolidated  Condensed Statements of Income and Changes in Shareholders' Equity for the nine months ended January 31, 2019 are as follows:

($ in thousands)	Amount Before Tax		Tax Expense			Amount Net of Tax
Change in unrealized gains on securities	$	438	$	(93	)	$	345
	$	438	$	(93	)	$	345

Note 7 - Related Party Transactions:

Investment Management (overview):

The Company has substantial non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM, the asset manager to the Value Line Mutual Funds.  Accordingly, the Company no longer reports this operation as a separate business segment, although it still maintains a significant interest in the cash flows generated by this business and will receive non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests, as discussed below. 

Total assets in the Value Line Funds managed and/or distributed by EAM at January 31, 2020, were $3.75 billion, 40% above total assets of $2.68 billion in the Value Line Funds managed and/or distributed  by EAM at January 31, 2019.

The Company’s non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM entitle it to receive quarterly distributions in a range of 41% to 55% of EAM’s revenues (excluding distribution revenues) from EAM’s mutual fund and separate account business and 50% of the residual profits of EAM (subject to temporary increase in certain limited circumstances).  The Voting Profits Interest Holders will receive the other 50% of residual profits of EAM.  Distribution is not less than 90% of EAM’s profits payable each fiscal quarter under the provisions of the EAM Trust Agreement.   Value Line’s percent share of EAM’s revenues is calculated each fiscal quarter.  The applicable recent non-voting revenues interest percentage for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 was 51.03%.

EAM Trust - VLI's non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests:

The Company holds non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM which entitle the Company to receive from EAM an amount ranging from 41% to 55% of EAM's investment management fee revenues from its mutual fund and separate accounts business.  EAM currently has no separately managed account fees.  The Company recorded income from its non-voting revenues interest and its non-voting profits interests in EAM as follows:

	Three Months Ended January 31,				Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020		2019		2020		2019
Non-voting revenues interest in EAM	$	3,033	$	1,997	$	8,389	$	6,060
Non-voting profits interest in EAM		422		213		995		805
	$	3,455	$	2,210	$	9,384	$	6,865

At January 31, 2020, the Company's investment in EAM includes a receivable of $3,413,000 representing the quarterly distribution of the non-voting revenues share and non-voting profits share.  That sum was subsequently paid.

15

Value Line, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

January 31, 2020

(Unaudited)

Transactions with Parent:

During the nine months ended January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019, the Company was reimbursed $259,000 and $256,000,  respectively, for payments it made on behalf of and for services the Company provided to the Parent Company, Arnold Bernhard and Co., Inc. ("Parent").  There were no receivables from the Parent on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets at January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019.

The Company is a party to a tax-sharing arrangement with the Parent which allocates the tax liabilities of the two Companies between them.  The Company made federal tax payments of $3,325,000 and  $2,050,000 to the Parent during the nine months ended January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019, respectively.

As of January 31, 2020, the Parent owned 89.57% of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company.

Note 8 - Federal, State and Local Income Taxes:

In accordance with the requirements of the Income Tax Topic of the FASB's ASC, the Company's provision for income taxes includes the following:

	Three Months Ended January 31,					Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020			2019		2020		2019
Current tax expense:
Federal	$	1,347		$	513	$	3,480	$	2,118
State and local		300			173		915		333
Current tax expense		1,647			686		4,395		2,451
Deferred tax expense (benefit):
Federal		154			429		100		434
State and local		(2	)		197		270		(57	)
Deferred tax expense (benefit):		152			626		370		377
Income tax provision	$	1,799		$	1,312	$	4,765	$	2,828

On December 22, 2017 H.R. 1, originally known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Tax Act"), was enacted.  The Tax Act lowered the U.S. federal income tax rate ("Federal Tax Rate") from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018.  Accordingly, the Company computes Federal income tax expense using the Federal Tax Rate of 21% in fiscal year 2020 and each year thereafter.

The overall effective income tax rates, as a percentage of pre-tax ordinary income for the nine months ended January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019 were 27.05% and 24.20%, respectively.  The increase in the effective tax rate during the quarter ended January 31, 2020 is primarily a result of an increase in the state and local income taxes as a result of changes in state and local tax legislation and the effect of the lowering of the NYC tax allocation factor on deferred taxes in fiscal 2019.  The Company's annualized overall effective tax rate fluctuates due to a number of factors, in addition to changes in tax law, including but not limited to an increase or decrease in the ratio of items that do not have tax consequences to pre-tax income, the Company's geographic profit mix between tax jurisdictions, taxation method adopted by each locality, new interpretations of existing tax laws and rulings and settlements with tax authorities.

Deferred income taxes, a liability, are provided for temporary differences between the financial reporting basis and the tax basis of the Company's assets and liabilities.  The tax effect of temporary differences giving rise to the Company's long-term deferred tax liability are as follows:

	January 31,			April 30,
($ in thousands)	2020			2019
Federal tax liability (benefit):
Deferred gain on deconsolidation of EAM	$	10,669		$	10,669
Deferred non-cash post-employment compensation		(372	)		(372	)
Depreciation and amortization		108			130
Unrealized gain on securities held for sale		570			446
Deferred charges		(333	)		(354	)
Other		(58	)		(279	)
Total federal tax liability		10,584			10,240
State and local tax liabilities (benefits):
Deferred gain on deconsolidation of EAM		2,676			2,530
Deferred non-cash post-employment compensation		(93	)		(74	)
Depreciation and amortization		27			40
Unrealized gain on securities held for sale		143			-
Other		(84	)		(112	)
Total state and local tax liabilities		2,669			2,384
Deferred tax liability, long-term	$	13,253		$	12,624

At the end of each interim reporting period, the Company estimates the effective income tax rate to apply for the full fiscal year. The Company uses the effective income tax rate determined to provide for income taxes on a year-to-date basis and reflects the tax effect of any tax law changes and certain other discrete events in the period in which they occur.

16

Value Line, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

January 31, 2020

(Unaudited)

The provision for income taxes differs from the amount of income tax determined by applying the applicable U.S. statutory income tax rate to pretax income as a result of the following:

	Nine Months Ended January 31,
	2020			2019
U.S. statutory federal tax rate		21.00	%		21.00	%
Increase (decrease) in tax rate from:
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit		6.20	%		3.45	%
Effect of dividends received deductions		(0.20	%)		(0.25	%)
Other, net		0.05	%		-
Effective income tax rate		27.05	%		24.20	%

The Company believes that, as of January 31, 2020, there were no material uncertain tax positions that would require disclosure under GAAP.

The Company is included in the consolidated federal income tax return of the Parent.  The Company has a tax sharing agreement which requires it to make tax payments to the Parent equal to the Company's liability/(benefit) as if it filed a separate return.  Beginning with the fiscal year ended April 30, 2017, the Company files combined income tax returns with the Parent on a unitary basis in certain states as a result of changes in state tax regulations.  The Company does not anticipate any significant tax implications from the change to unitary state tax filing.

The Company’s federal income tax returns (included in the Parent’s consolidated returns) and state and city tax returns for fiscal years ended 2016 through 2018, are subject to examination by the tax authorities, generally for three years after they are filed with the tax authorities. The Company is presently engaged in a federal tax audit for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2015 and does not expect it to have a material effect on the financial statements.

Note 9 - Property and Equipment:

Property and equipment are carried at cost.  Depreciation and amortization are provided using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, or in the case of leasehold improvements, over the remaining terms of the leases.  For income tax purposes, depreciation of furniture and equipment is computed using accelerated methods and buildings and leasehold improvements are depreciated over prescribed extended tax lives. Property and equipment, net, on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets was comprised of the following:

	January 31,			April 30,
($ in thousands)	2020			2019
Building and leasehold improvements	$	1,013		$	1,013
Operating lease - right-of-use asset		8,799			-
Furniture and equipment		4,046			4,042
		13,858			5,055
Accumulated depreciation and amortization		(4,060	)		(3,909	)
Total property and equipment, net	$	9,798		$	1,146

Note 10 - Accounting for the Costs of Computer Software Developed for Internal Use:

The Company has adopted the provisions of the Statement of Position 98-1 (SOP 98-1), "Accounting for the Costs of Computer Software Developed for Internal Use".  SOP 98-1 requires companies to capitalize as long-lived assets many of the costs associated with developing or purchasing software for internal use and amortize those costs over the software's estimated useful life in a systematic and rational manner.  Such costs, when incurred, are capitalized and amortized over the expected useful life of the asset, normally 3 to 5 years.  During  the nine months ended January 31, 2019 the Company capitalized $98,000 of third party programmers' costs related to the development of software for internal use.  Total amortization expenses during the nine months ended January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019, were $52,000 and $107,000, respectively.

The Company  did not incur and did not capitalize expenditures related to third party programmers' costs or to the development of software for internal use during the nine months ended January 31, 2020.

Note 11 - Treasury Stock and Repurchase Program:

On October 19, 2018, the Company's Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program authorizing the repurchase of shares of the Company’s common stock up to an aggregate purchase price of $2,000,000.  The repurchases may be made from time to time on the open market at prevailing market prices, in negotiated transactions off the market, in block purchases or otherwise. The repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any time at the Company’s discretion and has no set expiration date.

17

Value Line, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

January 31, 2020

(Unaudited)

Treasury stock, at cost, consists of the following:

(in thousands except for shares and cost per share)	Shares		Total Average Cost Assigned		Average Cost per Share		Aggregate Purchase Price Remaining Under the Program
Balance as of April 30, 2019 (1), (2), (3)		336,439	$	4,743	$	14.10	$	1,438
Purchases effected in open market during the quarters ended:
July 31, 2019		3,857		92		23.88		1,346
October 31, 2019		12,636		301		23.78		1,045
January 31, 2020		7,523		179		23.85		866
Balance as of January 31, 2020		360,455	$	5,315	$	14.75	$	866

(1) Includes 85,219 shares that were acquired during the former repurchase program which was authorized in January 2011 and expired in January 2012;  18,400 shares were acquired prior to January 2011.

(2) Includes 207,047 shares that were acquired during the $3 million repurchase program which was authorized in September 2012 and expired in October 2018.

(3) Includes 49,789 shares that were acquired during the $2 million repurchase program which was authorized in  October 2018.

Note 12 - Leases:

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842)”.  This ASU requires that, for leases longer than one year, a lessee recognizes in the statements of financial position a right-of-use asset, representing the right to use the underlying asset for the lease term, and a lease liability, representing the liability to make lease payments. It also requires that for finance leases, a lessee recognizes interest expense on the lease liability, separately from the amortization of the right-of-use asset in the statements of earnings, while for operating leases, such amounts should be recognized as a combined expense. The firm adopted this ASU in May 2019 under a modified retrospective approach.

The Company adopted ASU 2016-02 using a modified retrospective transition approach as of the Effective Date as permitted by the amendments in ASU 2018-11, which provides an alternative modified retrospective transition method. As a result, the Company was not required to adjust its comparative period financial information for effects of the standard or make the new required lease disclosures for periods before the date of adoption (i.e. May 1, 2019). The Company has elected to employ the transitionary relief offered by the FASB and, therefore, has not reassessed (1) whether existing or expired contracts contain a lease, (2) lease classification for existing or expired leases or (3) the accounting for initial direct costs that were previously capitalized.

The Company leases office space in New York, NY and a warehouse and appurtenant office space in Lyndhurst, NJ. The Company has evaluated these leases and determined that they are operating leases under the definitions of the guidance of ASU 2016-02.

The right-of-use asset is initially measured at cost, which comprises the initial amount of the net present value of the lease liability adjusted for lease payments made at or before the lease commencement date, plus any initial direct costs incurred less any lease incentives received. For operating leases, the right-of-use asset is subsequently measured throughout the lease term at the carrying amount of the net present value of the lease liability, plus initial direct costs, plus (minus) any prepaid (accrued) lease payments, less the unamortized balance of lease incentives received.

On May 1, 2019, the Company recorded a right-of-use asset in the amount of $9,575,000, which represents the lease liability of $10,340,000 adjusted for previously recorded unamortized lease incentives in the amount of $765,000. The right-of-use asset will be amortized over the remaining lease term in the amount equal to the difference between the calculated straight-line expense of the total lease payments less the monthly interest calculated on the remaining lease liability. As of January 31, 2020, the Company had a long-term lease asset of $8,799,000 recorded in property and equipment in its consolidated condensed balance sheets.

The Company will recognize lease expense, calculated as the remaining cost of the lease allocated over the remaining lease term on a straight-line basis. Lease expense will be presented as part of continuing operations in the consolidated condensed statements of income. For the nine months ended January 31, 2020, the Company recognized $1,125,000 in lease expense.

For the nine months ended January 31, 2020, the Company paid $1,047,000 in rent relating to the leases. As a payment arising from an operating lease, the $1,047,000 will be classified within operating activities in the consolidated condensed statements of cash flows.

18

Value Line, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements

January 31, 2020

(Unaudited)

The Company’s leases generally do not provide an implicit interest rate, and therefore the Company estimated an incremental borrowing rate, or IBR, as of the commencement date, to determine the present value of its operating lease liabilities. The IBR is defined under ASC 842 as the rate of interest that the Company would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term for an amount equal to the lease payments in a similar economic environment. The following table reconciles the undiscounted future minimum lease payments to the total operating lease liabilities recognized on the condensed consolidated balance sheet as of January 31, 2020:

Fiscal years ended April 30,	(in thousands)
2020 *	$	354
2021		1,432
2022		1,506
2023		1,597
2024		1,634
Thereafter		5,265
Total undiscounted future minimum lease payments		11,788
Less: difference between undiscounted lease payments & the present value of future lease payments		2,144
Total operating lease liabilities	$	9,644

* Excludes the nine months ended January 31, 2020

Note 13 - Restricted Cash and Deposits:

Restricted Money Market Investment in the noncurrent assets on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet at January 31, 2020, includes $469,000, which represents cash invested in a bank money market fund securing a letter of credit ("LOC") in the amount of $469,000 issued to the sublandlord as a security deposit for the Company's New York City leased corporate office facility.

Note 14 - Concentration:

During the  nine months ended January 31, 2020, 30.85% of total publishing revenues of $30,500,000 were derived from a single customer.

Note 15 - Concentration of Credit Risk:

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist principally of cash deposits. Accounts at each institution are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) up to $250,000. As of January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019, the Company had $1,782,000 and $2,650,000, respectively, in excess of the FDIC insured limit.  Management has concluded the excess does not represent a material risk, based on the creditworthiness  of the counter parties.

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Item 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This report contains statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions (including certain projections and business trends) accompanied by such phrases as “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “will”, “intend” and other similar or negative expressions, that are “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Actual results for Value Line, Inc. (“Value Line” or “the Company”) may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the following:

● maintaining revenue from subscriptions for the Company’s digital and print published products;

● changes in market and economic conditions, including global financial issues;

● protecting intellectual property rights;

● dependence on non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EULAV Asset Management, a Delaware statutory trust (“EAM” or “EAM Trust”), which serves as the investment advisor to the Value Line Funds and engages in related distribution, marketing and administrative services;

● fluctuations in EAM’s and third party copyright assets under management due to broadly based changes in the values of equity and debt securities, redemptions by investors and other factors;

● possible changes in the valuation of EAM’s intangible assets from time to time;

● generating future revenues or collection of receivables from significant customers;

● dependence on key personnel;

● competition in the fields of publishing, copyright and investment management, along with associated effects on the level and structure of prices and fees, and the mix of services delivered;

● the impact of government regulation on the Company’s and EAM’s businesses;

● availability of free or low cost investment data through discount brokers or generally over the internet;

● terrorist attacks, cyber attacks and natural disasters;

● the outbreaks of novel coronavirus beginning in the U.S. in early 2020, which may affect market and economic conditions, along with unknown impacts on employees, customers, and aspects of operations;

● changes in prices of materials and other inputs required by the Company;

● other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the risks described in Item 1A, “Risk Factors” of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2019 and in Part II, Item 1A of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended January 31, 2020; and other risks and uncertainties arising from time to time.

These factors are not necessarily all of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any of our forward-looking statements. Other unknown or unpredictable factors which may involve external factors over which we may have no control or changes in our plans, strategies, objectives, expectations or intentions, which may happen at any time at our discretion, could also have material adverse effects on future results. Except as otherwise required to be disclosed in periodic reports required to be filed by public companies with the SEC pursuant to the SEC's rules, we have no duty to update these statements, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In light of these risks and uncertainties, current plans, anticipated actions, and future financial conditions and results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking information contained herein.

In this report, “Value Line,” “we,” “us,” “our” refers to Value Line, Inc. and “the Company” refers to Value Line and its subsidiaries unless the context otherwise requires.

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Executive Summary of the Business

The Company's core business is producing investment periodicals and their underlying research and making available certain Value Line copyrights, Value Line trademarks and Value Line Proprietary Ranking System results and other proprietary information, to third parties under written agreements for use in third-party managed and marketed investment products and for other purposes. Value Line markets under well-known brands including Value Line®, the Value Line logo®, The Value Line Investment Survey®, Smart Research, Smarter Investing™ and The Most Trusted Name in Investment Research®. The name "Value Line" as used to describe the Company, its products, and its subsidiaries, is a registered trademark of the Company. Effective December 23, 2010, EULAV Asset Management Trust (“EAM”) was established to provide the investment management services to the Value Line Funds, institutional and individual accounts and provide distribution, marketing, and administrative services to the Value Line® Mutual Funds ("Value Line Funds"). The Company maintains a significant investment in EAM from which it receives payments in respect of its non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests.

The Company’s target audiences within the investment research field are individual investors, colleges, libraries, and investment management professionals. Individuals come to Value Line for complete research in one package. Institutional licensees consist of corporations, financial professionals, colleges, and municipal libraries. Libraries and universities offer the Company’s detailed research to their patrons and students. Investment management professionals use the research and historical information in their day-to-day businesses. The Company has a dedicated department that solicits institutional subscriptions.

Payments received for new and renewal subscriptions and the value of receivables for amounts billed to retail and institutional customers are recorded as unearned revenue until the order is fulfilled. As the orders are fulfilled, the Company recognizes revenue in equal installments over the life of the particular subscription. Accordingly, the subscription fees to be earned by fulfilling subscriptions after the date of a particular balance sheet are shown on that balance sheet as unearned revenue within current and long-term liabilities.

The investment periodicals and related publications (retail and institutional) and Value Line copyrights and Value Line Proprietary Ranking System results and other proprietary information consolidate into one segment called Publishing.

Asset Management and Mutual Fund Distribution Businesses

The business of EAM is managed by its trustees each owning 20% of the voting profits interest in EAM and by its officers subject to the direction of the trustees. The Company’s non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM entitle it to receive a range of 41% to 55% of EAM’s revenues (excluding distribution revenues) from EAM’s mutual fund and separate account business and 50% of the residual profits of EAM (subject to temporary increase in certain limited circumstances). The Voting Profits Interest Holders will receive the other 50% of residual profits of EAM. Distribution is not less than 90% of EAM’s profits payable each fiscal quarter under the provisions of the EAM Trust Agreement.

Business Environment

The long business expansion, albeit likely to remain in place in the coming months, is nevertheless on shakier ground than it had been just weeks ago. The reason is the alarming spread of the coronavirus, a disease that began in China in late 2019 and has spread to scores of nations, afflicted tens of thousands of individuals, and cost the lives of several thousand victims.

The deadly disease has hit the world stage with ferocity, threatening growth in China, the rest of Asia, Europe, and the western world, including the United States. In response, the Federal Reserve voted to cut the federal funds rate target on March 3rd, by 50 basis points, or one half of a percentage point. That surprise reduction, coming a full two weeks before the next scheduled Federal Open Market Committee meeting, reflected the central bank's growing concerns about the impact the virus will have on domestic and global growth.

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These concerns notwithstanding, we should be able to avoid a recession this year. But the margin for error is now much smaller, with GDP growth likely to hover around 1%, at best, in the opening half. In fact, should growth falter more than we now suspect, the Fed might reduce interest rates further. It also is possible that the government would try to take fiscal action, such as introducing spending initiatives or attempting another tax cut. But neither of these options would be easy in a partisan Washington during an election year.

Looking at the investment backdrop, there was an unsettling, but understandable, rise in financial market volatility as the first quarter wound down, with stocks suffering a sharp reversal and bond prices soaring, as investors sought the perceived safety of more secure assets. However, with the investment fundamentals still sound on the United States shores, especially on a longer-term basis, and with most previous exogenous shocks, especially those related to disease breakouts, having been handled by Wall Street with little lasting impact, it would seem prudent for investors to stay the course.                  

Results of Operations for the Three and Nine Months Ended January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019

The following table illustrates the Company’s key components of revenues and expenses.

	Three Months Ended January 31,							Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands, except earnings per share)	2020		2019		Change			2020		2019		Change
Income from operations	$	3,129	$	1,413		121.4	%	$	7,783	$	4,443		75.2	%
Non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests from EAM Trust		3,455		2,210		56.3	%		9,384		6,865		36.7	%
Income from operations plus non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests from EAM Trust	$	6,584	$	3,623		81.7	%	$	17,167	$	11,308		51.8	%
Operating expenses	$	7,674	$	7,639		0.5	%	$	22,717	$	22,631		0.4	%
Income from securities transactions, net	$	167	$	140		19.3	%	$	451	$	377		19.6	%
Income before income taxes	$	6,751	$	3,763		79.4	%	$	17,618	$	11,685		50.8	%
Net income	$	4,952	$	2,451		102.0	%	$	12,853	$	8,857		45.1	%
Earnings per share	$	0.51	$	0.25		104.0	%	$	1.33	$	0.91		46.2	%

During the nine months ended January 31, 2020, the Company’s income from operations of $7,783,000 was $3,340,000 or 75.2% above income from operations of $4,443,000 during the nine months ended January 31, 2019. During the nine months ended January 31, 2020, there were 9,652,805 average common shares outstanding as compared to 9,688,681 average common shares outstanding during the nine months ended January 31, 2019. For the nine months ended January 31, 2020, operating expenses were well controlled and were comparable to those during the nine months ended January 31, 2019. During the nine months ended January 31, 2020, the Company’s net income of $12,853,000, or $1.33 per share, was $3,996,000 or 45.1% above net income of $8,857,000, or $0.91 per share, for the nine months ended January 31, 2019. During the three months ended January 31, 2020, the Company’s net income of $4,952,000, or $0.51 per share, was 102.0% above net income of $2,451,000, or $0.25 per share, for the three months ended January 31, 2019. During the three months ended January 31, 2020, the Company’s income from operations of $3,129,000 was 121.4% above income from operations of $1,413,000 during the three months ended January 31, 2019. The largest factors in the increases in net income and income from operations during the three and nine months ended January 31, 2020, compared to the prior fiscal year were an increase in copyright fees, an increase from revenues and profits interests in EAM Trust and well controlled overall expenses.

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Total operating revenues

	Three Months Ended January 31,							Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020		2019		Change			2020		2019		Change
Investment periodicals and related publications:
Print	$	3,273	$	3,304		-0.9	%	$	9,563	$	10,076		-5.1	%
Digital		3,835		3,897		-1.6	%		11,527		11,679		-1.3	%
Total investment periodicals and related publications		7,108		7,201		-1.3	%		21,090		21,755		-3.1	%
Copyright fees		3,695		1,851		99.6	%		9,410		5,319		76.9	%
Total publishing revenues	$	10,803	$	9,052		19.3	%	$	30,500	$	27,074		12.7	%

Within investment periodicals and related publications, subscription sales orders are derived from print and digital products. The following chart illustrates the changes in the sales orders associated with print and digital subscriptions. 

Sources of subscription sales

	Three Months Ended January 31,												Nine Months Ended January 31,
	2020						2019						2020						2019
	Print			Digital			Print			Digital			Print			Digital			Print			Digital
New Sales		7.5	%		13.6	%		11.5	%		14.8	%		9.8	%		14.2	%		14.4	%		13.8	%
Renewal Sales		92.5	%		86.4	%		88.5	%		85.2	%		90.2	%		85.8	%		85.6	%		86.2	%
Total Gross Sales		100.0	%		100.0	%		100.0	%		100.0	%		100.0	%		100.0	%		100.0	%		100.0	%

During the nine months ended January 31, 2020 new sales of digital publications slightly increased as a percent of the total gross digital sales versus the prior fiscal year due to an increase in new Institutional gross sales of digital publications. During the nine months ended January 31, 2020 new sales of print publications decreased as a percent of the total gross print sales versus the prior fiscal year due to the timing of advertising.

	As of January 31,		As of April 30,		As of January 31,		Change
($ in thousands)	2020		2019		2019		Jan-20 vs. Apr-19			Jan-20 vs. Jan-19
Unearned subscription revenue (current and long-term liabilities)	$	23,696	$	25,483	$	23,899		-7.0	%		-0.8	%

Unearned subscription revenue as of January 31, 2020 is comparable to January 31, 2019 and is 7% below April 30, 2019. Variation is to be expected due to the level and timing of advertising for order generation, the volume of new orders and timing of renewal orders, direct mail campaigns and large Institutional Sales orders. Unearned subscription revenue typically peaks at April 30^th (the end of the Company’s fiscal year).

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Investment periodicals and related publications revenues

Investment periodicals and related publications revenues of $21,090,000, which included an extra week of servings for the weekly print products decreased 3.1%, (3.9% excluding the extra week of print products servings) during the nine months ended January 31, 2020, as compared to the prior fiscal year. Revenues from investment periodicals and related publications revenues of $7,108,000, for the three months ended January 31, 2020 decreased 1.3%, (4.0% excluding the extra week of print products servings) as compared to the third quarter ended January 31, 2019. The Company continued activity to attract new subscribers through various marketing channels, primarily direct mail, e-mail, and by the efforts of our sales personnel.  Total product line circulation at January 31, 2020 was 7.0% below total product line circulation at January 31, 2019. During the nine months ended January 31, 2020 Institutional Sales department generated total sales orders of $9,443,000 and the retail telemarketing sales team generated total sales orders of $5,912,000.

Print publication revenues of $9,563,000, which included an extra week of servings for the weekly print products decreased 5.1%, (7% excluding the extra week of print products servings) during the nine months ended January 31, 2020 as compared to the prior fiscal year as a result of a 7.0% decline in total print circulation in fiscal 2020.  Revenues from the print publications of $3,273,000, for the three months ended January 31, 2020 decreased 0.9%, (6.8% excluding the extra week of print products servings) as compared to the third quarter ended January 31, 2019. Total digital circulation at January 31, 2020 was 7.1% below total digital circulation at January 31, 2019 and digital publications revenues of $11,527,000 during the nine months ended January 31, 2020 were only 1.3 % below the prior fiscal year, as higher-priced subscriptions were generally retained. 

Value Line serves primarily individual and professional investors in stocks, who pay generally on annual subscription plans, for basic services or as much as $100,000 or more annually for comprehensive premium quality research, not obtainable elsewhere.  The ongoing goal of adding new subscribers has led us to experiment with varying terms for our reliable, proprietary research including periods of intensive promotion of “starter” services and publications.  Further, new services and new features for existing services are regularly under consideration and development.  Prominently introduced during the second quarter were new features in the Value Line Research Center, one of which is the new Value Line ETFs service. A new monthly publication Value Line Information You Should Know Wealth Newsletter was introduced during the third quarter of fiscal 2020, and features of the Value Line Research Center and The Value Line Fund Advisor Plus services were enhanced. 

The Value Line Proprietary Ranking System results (the “Ranking System”), a component of the Company’s flagship product, The Value Line Investment Survey, is also utilized in the Company’s copyright business. The Ranking System is made available to EAM for specific uses without charge.  The Ranking System is designed to be predictive over a six to twelve month period.  During the six month period ended January 31, 2020, the combined Ranking System “Rank 1 & 2” stocks’ increase of 3.4% outperformed the Russell 2000 Index’s decrease of 2.5% during the comparable period.  During the twelve month period ended January 31, 2020, the combined Ranking System “Rank 1 & 2” stocks’ increase of 14.5% outperformed to the Russell 2000 Index’s increase of 7.6% during the comparable period.

Copyright fees 

            During the nine months ended January 31, 2020, copyright fees of $9,410,000 were 76.9% above those during the corresponding period in the prior fiscal year.  The largest of the individual ETFs active under Value Line’s copyright program has again earned a five star overall Morningstar rating.  The Company has negotiated with the sponsor of the largest exchange traded fund (“ETF”) in the program the restructuring of the Company’s asset based fees and overall fees of the ETF in light of the competitive market. The Company’s copyright fees may be reduced in the range of ten percent, although the level of assets under management in the ETF will be critical to this projection.

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Total assets in the Value Line Funds managed and/or distributed by EAM at January 31, 2020, were $3.75 billion, which is $1.07 billion, or 40%, above total assets of $2.68 billion in the Value Line Funds managed and/or distributed by EAM at January 31, 2019. The increase reflects successful investment selection capturing market appreciation and positive net flows for the Value Line Funds, partially offset by net redemptions in eight of the eleven Funds over the twelve month period ended January 31, 2020.

Shares of Value Line Strategic Asset Management Trust (“SAM”) and Value Line Centurion Fund (“Centurion”) are only distributed within certain variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts issued by The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company, Inc. (“GIAC”).

Value Line Mutual Funds

	As of January 31,
($ in millions)	2020		2019		Change
Variable annuity assets ("GIAC")	$	412	$	380		8.4	%
All other open end equity and hybrid fund assets		3,232		2,191		47.5	%
Total equity and hybrid funds		3,644		2,571		41.7	%
Fixed income funds		107		107		0.0	%
Total EAM managed net assets	$	3,751	$	2,678		40.07	%

The Value Line Fund shareholders are provided a money market fund investment managed by Federated Government Obligations Fund.

As of January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019, five of six Value Line equity and hybrid mutual funds, excluding SAM and Centurion, held an overall four or five star rating by Morningstar, Inc.

Several of the Value Line Funds have received national recognition. The Value Line Asset Allocation Fund continues stellar performance as the top performing balanced fund of any allocation funds in Morningstar’s allocation categories. The Value Line Mid-Cap Focused Fund, the Value Line Small Cap Opportunities Fund and the Value Line Capital Appreciation Fund have been named “Category Kings” in The Wall Street Journal (“Journal”) in multiple months in recent years. In 2019 the Value Line Mid-Cap Focused Fund reached the Journal’s Winner’s Circle for U.S. equity funds.

EAM Trust - Results of operations before distribution to interest holders

The overall results of EAM’s investment management operations during the nine months ended January 31, 2020, before interest holder distributions, included total investment management fees earned from the Value Line Funds of $16,531,000, 12b-1 fees and other fees of $6,275,000 and other income of $147,000. For the same period, total investment management fee waivers were $233,000 and 12b-1 fee waivers for three Value Line Funds were $517,000. During the nine months ended January 31, 2020, EAM's net income was $1,990,000 after giving effect to Value Line’s non-voting revenues interest of $8,389,000, but before distributions to voting profits interest holders and to the Company in respect of its 50% non-voting profits interest.

The overall results of EAM’s investment management operations during the nine months ended January 31, 2019, before interest holder distributions, included total investment management fees earned from the Value Line Funds of $12,277,000, 12b-1 fees and other fees of $5,056,000 and other income of $153,000. For the same period, total investment management fee waivers were $329,000 and 12b-1 fee waivers for three Value Line Funds were $483,000. During the nine months ended January 31, 2019, EAM's net income was $1,610,000 after giving effect to Value Line’s non-voting revenues interest of $6,060,000, but before distributions to voting profits interest holders and to the Company in respect of its 50% non-voting profits interest.

The Value Line equity and hybrid funds’ assets represent 86.2%, variable annuity funds issued by GIAC represent 11.0%, and fixed income fund assets represent 2.8%, respectively, of total fund assets under management (“AUM”) as of January 31, 2020. At January 31, 2020, equity, hybrid and GIAC variable annuities AUM increased by 41.7% and fixed income AUM were comparable to fiscal 2019.

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EAM - The Company’s non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests

The Company holds non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM which entitle the Company to receive from EAM an amount ranging from 41% to 55% of EAM's investment management fee revenues from its mutual fund and separate accounts business, and 50% of EAM’s net profits, not less than 90% of which is distributed in cash every fiscal quarter. The applicable recent non-voting revenues interest percentage for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 was 51.03%.

The Company recorded income from its non-voting revenues interest and its non-voting profits interest in EAM as follows:

	Three Months Ended January 31,							Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020		2019		Change			2020		2019		Change
Non-voting revenues interest	$	3,033	$	1,997		51.9	%	$	8,389	$	6,060		38.4	%
Non-voting profits interest		422		213		98.1	%		995		805		23.6	%
	$	3,455	$	2,210		56.3	%	$	9,384	$	6,865		36.7	%

Operating expenses

	Three Months Ended January 31,							Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020		2019		Change			2020		2019		Change
Advertising and promotion	$	748	$	893		-16.2	%	$	2,393	$	2,455		-2.5	%
Salaries and employee benefits		4,523		4,417		2.4	%		13,299		13,164		1.0	%
Production and distribution		1,198		1,226		-2.3	%		3,608		3,809		-5.3	%
Office and administration		1,205		1,103		9.2	%		3,417		3,203		6.7	%
Total expenses	$	7,674	$	7,639		0.5	%	$	22,717	$	22,631		0.4	%

Expenses within the Company are categorized into advertising and promotion, salaries and employee benefits, production and distribution, office and administration.

Operating expenses of $22,717,000 during the nine months ended January 31, 2020 were comparable to those during the nine months ended January 31, 2019. Production and distribution expense categories decreased 5.3% as a result of cost controls and a decline in amortization of internally developed software during the nine months ended January 31, 2020. Operating expenses of $7,674,000 during the three months ended January 31, 2020 were comparable to those during the three months ended January 31, 2019.

Advertising and promotion

During the three and nine months ended January 31, 2020, advertising and promotion expenses of $748,000 and $2,393,000, respectively, decreased 16.2% and 2.5% as compared to the prior fiscal year. During the nine months ended January 31, 2020, an increase in media marketing expenses and institutional sales promotion was offset by a 22.4% decrease in direct mail expenses and a 5.1% decrease in sales commissions as compared to fiscal 2019.

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Salaries and employee benefits

During the three and nine months ended January 31, 2020, salaries and employee benefits of $4,523,000 and $13,299,000, respectively, increased 2.4% and 1.0% above the prior fiscal year. In fiscal 2020 salaries and employee benefits in the Information Technology department (“IT”) decreased 1.3%, reflecting completion of certain initiatives to upgrade operating systems.

Production and distribution

During the three and nine months ended January 31, 2020, production and distribution expenses of $1,198,000 and $3,608,000, respectively, decreased 2.3% and 5.3% below the prior fiscal year. During the nine months ended January 31, 2020, a $48,000 decrease was related to production support of the Company’s website, maintenance of the Company’s publishing and application software and operating systems in fiscal year 2020 and a decrease of $62,000 was attributable to a decline in amortization of internally developed software costs related to digital security and publication production software as compared to fiscal 2019. In fiscal 2020 printing and distribution costs decreased $40,000 due to a 7.0% decrease in print circulation during the nine months ended January 31, 2020.

Office and administration

During the three and nine months ended January 31, 2020, office and administrative expenses of $1,205,000 and $3,417,000, respectively, increased 9.2% and 6.7% above the prior fiscal year. The increase of $170,000 during the nine months ended January 31, 2020 was a result of operating lease amortization expense in fiscal 2020 due to a change in lease accounting standard ASU 2016-02,"Leases (Topic 842)".

Concentration

During the nine months ended January 31, 2020, 30.85% of total publishing revenues of $30,500,000 were derived from a single customer.

Income from Securities Transactions, net

During the nine months ended January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019, the Company’s income from securities transactions, net, primarily derived from dividend and interest income, was $451,000 and $377,000, respectively. Proceeds from maturities and sales of government debt securities classified as available-for-sale during the nine months ended January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019, were $5,223,000 and $4,638,000, respectively. There were no sales or proceeds from sales of equity securities during the nine months ended January 31, 2020 or January 31, 2019.

Effective income tax rate 

The overall effective income tax rates, as a percentage of pre-tax ordinary income for the nine months ended January 31, 2020 and January 31, 2019 were 27.05% and 24.20%, respectively. The increase in the effective tax rate during the quarter ended January 31, 2020 is primarily a result of an increase in the state and local income taxes as a result of changes in state and local tax legislation and the effect from lowering of the New York City tax allocation factor on deferred taxes in fiscal 2019. The Company's annualized overall effective tax rate fluctuates due to a number of factors, in addition to changes in tax law, including but not limited to an increase or decrease in the ratio of items that do not have tax consequences to pre-tax income, the Company's geographic profit mix between tax jurisdictions, taxation method adopted by each locality, new interpretations of existing tax laws and rulings and settlements with tax authorities.

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Leases

The FASB issued ASU 2016-02,"Leases (Topic 842)", in February 2016. ASU 2016-02 requires lessees to recognize assets and liabilities on the balance sheet for the rights and obligations created by all leases with terms of more than 12 months. ASU 2016-02 also requires certain qualitative and quantitative disclosures designed to give financial statement users information on the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases.

The Company adopted ASU 2016-02 using a modified retrospective transition approach as of the Effective Date as permitted by the amendments in ASU 2018-11, which provides an alternative modified retrospective transition method. As a result, the Company was not required to adjust its comparative period financial information for effects of the standard or make the new required lease disclosures for periods before the date of adoption (i.e. May 1, 2019). The Company has elected to employ the transitionary relief offered by the FASB and, therefore, has not reassessed (1) whether existing or expired contracts contain a lease, (2) lease classification for existing or expired leases or (3) the accounting for initial direct costs that were previously capitalized.

The Company leases office space in New York, NY and a warehouse and appurtenant office space in Lyndhurst, NJ. The Company has evaluated these leases and determined that they are operating leases under the definitions of the guidance of ASU 2016-02.

The right-of-use asset is initially measured at cost, which comprises the initial amount of the net present value of the lease liability adjusted for lease payments made at or before the lease commencement date, plus any initial direct costs incurred less any lease incentives received. For operating leases, the right-of-use asset is subsequently measured throughout the lease term at the carrying amount of the net present value of the lease liability, plus initial direct costs, plus (minus) any prepaid (accrued) lease payments, less the unamortized balance of lease incentives received.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The Company had working capital, defined as current assets less current liabilities, of $11,836,000 as of January 31, 2020 and $6,014,000 as of April 30, 2019. These amounts include short-term unearned revenue of $18,216,000 and $20,008,000 reflected in total current liabilities at January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019, respectively. Cash and short-term securities were $29,400,000 and $28,321,000 as of January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019, respectively.

The Company’s cash and cash equivalents include $2,739,000 and $5,617,000 at January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019, respectively, invested primarily at commercial banks and in Money Market Funds at brokers, which operate under Rule 2a-7 of the 1940 Act and invest primarily in short-term U.S. government securities.

Cash from operating activities

The Company had cash inflows from operating activities of $6,856,000 during the nine months ended January 31, 2020 compared to cash inflows from operating activities of $5,367,000 during the nine months ended January 31, 2019. The increase in cash inflows from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2020 is primarily attributable to increase in net income and increase in distributions from EAM.

Cash from investing activities

The Company’s cash outflows from investing activities of $3,426,000 during the nine months ended January 31, 2020 compared to cash outflows from investing activities of $1,090,000 for the nine months ended January 31, 2019. Cash outflows for the nine months ended January 31, 2020 were higher than in fiscal 2019 primarily due to the additional equity securities investments and an increase in purchases of fixed income securities in fiscal 2020.

28

Cash from financing activities

During the nine months ended January 31, 2020, the Company’s cash outflows from financing activities were $6,368,000 and compared to cash outflows from financing activities of $5,854,000 for the nine months ended January 31, 2019. Cash outflows for financing activities included $572,000 and $331,000 for the repurchase of 24,016 shares and 15,724 shares of the Company’s common stock under the October 19, 2018 and the September 19, 2012 board approved common stock repurchase programs, during fiscal years 2020 and 2019, respectively. Quarterly dividend payments of $0.20 per share during fiscal 2020 aggregated $5,796,000 and compared to quarterly dividend payments of $0.19 per share during fiscal 2019 which aggregated $5,523,000.

At January 31, 2020 there were 9,639,545 common shares outstanding as compared to 9,675,896 common shares outstanding at January 31, 2019. The Company expects financing activities to continue to include cash payments for dividends for the foreseeable future.

Management believes that the Company’s cash and other liquid asset resources used in its business together with the future cash flows from operations and from the Company’s non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM will be sufficient to finance current and forecasted liquidity needs for the next twelve months. Management does not anticipate making any borrowings during the next twelve months. As of January 31, 2020, and April 30, 2019, retained earnings were $55,660,000 and $48,598,000, respectively, and liquid assets were $29,400,000 and $28,321,000, respectively.

Seasonality

Our publishing revenues are comprised of subscriptions which are generally annual subscriptions. Our cash flows from operating activities are minimally seasonal in nature, primarily due to the timing of customer payments made for orders and subscription renewals. It is not believed that variations in timing of customer payments reflect any issues in financial reliability of customers.

Off-balance sheet arrangements

We are not a party to any off-balance sheet arrangements, other than operating leases entered into in the ordinary course of business.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842)”. This ASU requires that, for leases longer than one year, a lessee recognize in the statements of financial position a right-of-use asset, representing the right to use the underlying asset for the lease term, and a lease liability, representing the liability to make lease payments. It also requires that for finance leases, a lessee recognize interest expense on the lease liability, separately from the amortization of the right-of-use asset in the statements of earnings, while for operating leases, such amounts should be recognized as a combined expense. The Company adopted this ASU in May 2019 under a modified retrospective approach (see Note 12).

In August 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-15, Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (a consensus of the Emerging Issues Task Force) (“ASU 2016-15”), effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The amendments in ASU 2016-15 address eight specific cash flow issues and apply to all entities that are required to present a statement of cash flows under ASC Topic 230, Statement of Cash Flows. The Company has adopted ASU 2016-15 in the first quarter of fiscal 2019.

29

The FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)”, which requires an entity to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which it expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In addition, ASU No. 2014-09 requires disclosures of the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. ASU No. 2014-09 supersedes most existing U.S. GAAP revenue recognition principles, and it permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. ASU No. 2014-09 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those annual periods. The Company has adopted ASU No. 2014-09 in the first quarter of fiscal 2019, which does not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated condensed financial statements and related disclosures.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, "Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force)", effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those annual periods. This ASU requires that the reconciliation of the beginning-of-period and end-of-period amounts shown in the statement of cash flows include cash, cash equivalents and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. The Company has adopted ASU No. 2016-18 in the first quarter of fiscal 2019, which does not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated condensed financial statements and related disclosures.

On June 21, 2018, the United States Supreme Court reversed the 1992 ruling in Quill, which protected firms delivering items by common carrier into a state where it had no physical presence from having to collect sales tax in such state. The Company has  integrated the effects of the various state laws into its operations and continues to do so.

Critical Accounting Estimates and Policies

The Company prepares its Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles as in effect in the United States (U.S. “GAAP”). The preparation of these financial statements requires the Company to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent, and the Company evaluates its estimates on an ongoing basis. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. The Company believes the following critical accounting policies reflect the significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of its Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements.

Item 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.

Market Risk Disclosures

The Company’s Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet includes a substantial amount of assets the fair values of which are subject to market risks. The Company’s market risks are primarily associated with interest rates and equity price risk. The following sections address the significant market risks associated with the Company’s investment activities.

Interest Rate Risk

The Company’s strategy has been to acquire debt securities with low credit risk. Despite this strategy management recognizes and accepts the possibility that losses may occur. To limit the price fluctuation in these securities from interest rate changes, the Company’s management invests primarily in short-term obligations maturing within one year.

The fair values of the Company’s fixed maturity investments will fluctuate in response to changes in market interest rates. Increases and decreases in prevailing interest rates generally translate into decreases and increases in fair values of those instruments. Additionally, fair values of interest rate sensitive instruments may be affected by prepayment options, relative values of alternative investments, and other general market conditions.

Fixed income securities consist of certificates of deposits and securities issued by federal, state and local governments within the United States. As of January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019 the aggregate cost of fixed income securities classified as available-for-sale were $12,872,000 and $11,163,000, respectively, and fair value was $12,984,000 and $11,206,000, respectively.

30

The following table summarizes the estimated effects of hypothetical increases and decreases in interest rates on assets that are subject to interest rate risk. It is assumed that the changes occur immediately and uniformly to each category of instrument containing interest rate risks. The hypothetical changes in market interest rates do not reflect what could be deemed best or worst case scenarios. Variations in market interest rates could produce significant changes in the timing of repayments due to prepayment options available. For these reasons, actual results might differ from those reflected in the table.

Fixed Income Securities

	Estimated Fair Value after
	Hypothetical Change in Interest Rates
	(in thousands)
	(bp = basis points)
			6 mos.		6 mos.		1 yr.		1 yr.
	Fair		50bp		50bp		100bp		100bp
	Value		increase		decrease		increase		decrease
As of January 31, 2020
Investments in securities with fixed maturities	$	12,984	$	12,958	$	12,996	$	12,968	$	12,995
As of April 30, 2019
Investments in securities with fixed maturities	$	11,206	$	11,109	$	11,248	$	11,149	$	11,265

Management regularly monitors the maturity structure of the Company’s investments in debt securities in order to maintain an acceptable price risk associated with changes in interest rates.

Equity Price Risk

The carrying values of investments subject to equity price risks are based on quoted market prices as of the balance sheet dates. Market prices are subject to fluctuation and, consequently, the amount realized in the subsequent sale of an investment may significantly differ from the reported market value. Fluctuation in the market price of a security may result from perceived changes in the underlying economic characteristics of the issuer, the relative price of alternative investments and general market conditions. Furthermore, amounts realized in the sale of a particular security may be affected by the relative quantity of the security being sold.

The Company’s equity investment strategy has been to acquire equity securities across a diverse industry group. The portfolio consists primarily of ETFs and select common stock holdings of blue chip companies with a concentration on large capitalization companies with high relative dividend yields. In order to maintain liquidity in these securities, the Company’s policy has been to invest in and hold in its portfolio, no more than 5% of the approximate average daily trading volume in any one issue. Additionally, the Company may purchase and hold non-leveraged ETFs whose performance inversely corresponds to the market value changes of investments in other ETF securities held in the equity portfolio for dividend yield.

As of January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019, the aggregate cost of the equity securities classified as available-for-sale, which consist of investments in the SPDR Series Trust S&P Dividend ETF (SDY), First Trust Value Line Dividend Index ETF (FVD), INVESCO Financial Preferred ETF (PGF), Select Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), First Trust Value Line 100 ETF (FVL), ProShares Trust S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) and iShares Select Dividend ETF (DVY) and equites under EAM management held at Charles Schwab was $10,257,000 and $8,541,000, respectively, and the fair value was $12,861,000 and $10,622,000, respectively.   

31

Equity Securities

($ in thousands)		Fair Value		Hypothetical Price Change	Estimated Fair Value after Hypothetical Change in Prices		Hypothetical Percentage Increase (Decrease) in Shareholders’ Equity
As of January 31, 2020	Equity Securities and ETFs held for dividend yield	$	12,861	30% increase	$	16,720		5.61	%
				30% decrease	$	9,003		-5.61	%

Equity Securities

($ in thousands)		Fair Value		Hypothetical Price Change	Estimated Fair Value after Hypothetical Change in Prices		Hypothetical Percentage Increase (Decrease) in Shareholders’ Equity
As of April 30, 2019	Equity Securities and ETFs held for dividend yield	$	10,622	30% increase	$	13,809		5.30	%
				30% decrease	$	7,436		-5.30	%

Item 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

(a) The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the Company’s reports filed with the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure.

The Company’s management has evaluated, with the participation of the Company’s Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures, (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on that evaluation, the Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer have concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report.

(b) The registrant’s Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer have determined that there have been no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

32

Part II – OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

None.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

There have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in Item 1A – Risk Factors in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2019 filed with the SEC on July 25, 2019.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

(c) Purchases of Equity Securities by the Company

The following table provides information with respect to all repurchases of common stock made by or on behalf of the Company during the fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2020. All purchases listed below were made in the open market at prevailing market prices.

	ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
	(a) Total Number of Shares (or Units) Purchased		(b) Average Price Paid per Share (or Unit)		(c) Total Number of Shares (or Units) Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs		(d) Maximum Number (or Approximate Dollar Value) of Shares (or Units) that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
November 1 - 30, 2019		5,521	$	22.45		5,521	$	921,000
December 1 - 31, 2019		2,002		27.71		2,002		866,000
January 1 - 31, 2020		-		-		-		866,000
Total		7,523	$	23.85		7,523	$	866,000

All shares were repurchased pursuant to authorization of the Board of Directors. On October 19, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of shares of the Company’s common stock, at such times and prices as management determined to be advisable, up to an aggregate purchase price of $2,000,000.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

Item 5. Other Information

None.

33

Item 6. Exhibits

31.1 Certificate of Principal Executive Officer Required Under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

31.2 Certificate of Principal Financial Officer Required Under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

32.1 Joint Principal Executive Officer/Principal Financial Officer Certificate Required Under Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

101.INS	XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
101.LAB	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

34

VALUE LINE, INC.

Signatures

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Value Line, Inc.

(Registrant)

By:	/s/ Howard A. Brecher
	Howard A. Brecher
	Chief Executive Officer
	(Principal Executive Officer)
By:	/s/ Stephen R. Anastasio
	Stephen R. Anastasio
	Vice President & Treasurer
	(Principal Financial Officer)

Date:  March 12, 2020

35

EX-31.1

Exhibit 31.1

CERTIFICATIONS

I, Howard A. Brecher, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this report on Form 10-Q of Value Line, Inc. for the quarter ended January 31, 2020;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: March 12, 2020	By:	/s/ Howard A. Brecher
		Howard A. Brecher
		Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
		(Principal Executive Officer)

EX-31.2

Exhibit 31.2

CERTIFICATIONS

I, Stephen R. Anastasio, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this report on Form 10-Q of Value Line, Inc. for the quarter ended January 31, 2020;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: March 12, 2020	By:	/s/ Stephen R. Anastasio
		Stephen R. Anastasio
		Vice President & Treasurer
		(Principal Financial Officer)

EX-32.1

Exhibit 32.1

Certification Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350

In accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, the undersigned hereby certify, in the indicated capacities with respect to Value Line, Inc. (the “Issuer”), that the report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended January 31, 2020 of the Issuer fully complies with the requirements of section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and that the information contained in the quarterly report on Form 10-Q fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Issuer. This certification is not to be deemed to be filed pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and does not constitute a part of the quarterly report on Form 10-Q of the Issuer accompanying this certification.

By:	/s/ Howard A. Brecher
	Howard A. Brecher
	Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
	(Principal Executive Officer)
By:	/s/ Stephen R. Anastasio
	Stephen R. Anastasio
	Vice President & Treasurer
	(Principal Financial Officer)

Date: March 12, 2020

XML

Note 2 - Investments (Details Textual) - USD ($)	9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019	Apr. 30, 2019
Available-for-sale Equity Securities, Amortized Cost Basis, Total	$ 10,257,000		$ 8,541,000
Available-for-sale Securities, Equity Securities	12,861,000		$ 10,622,000
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Available-for-sale Securities Adjustment, before Tax, Portion Attributable to Parent, Total	592,000	$ 438,000
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Securities, Available-for-Sale, Unrealized Holding Gain (Loss) Arising During Period, Tax	$ 260,000	93,000
Available-for-sale Securities, Debt Securities, Average Yield	2.30%		2.09%
Equity Method Investments	$ 59,612,000		$ 58,625,000
EAM Trust [Member]
Fair Value of Contributed Capital at Inception	55,805,000		55,805,000
Cash and Liquid Securities in Excess of Working Capital Requirements Contributed to Capital Account	5,820,000		5,820,000
Equity Method Investment, Other than Temporary Impairment	$ 0		0
Percentage of Non Voting Profit Interest	50.00%
Accrued Non Voting Revenues and Non Voting Profits Interests Payable	$ 3,413,000		2,420,000
Equity Securities [Member]
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Realized Gain (Loss), Total	0	0
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Available-for-sale Securities Adjustment, before Tax, Portion Attributable to Parent, Total	523,000	404,000
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Securities, Available-for-Sale, Unrealized Holding Gain (Loss) Arising During Period, Tax	240,000	85,000
AOCI, Debt Securities, Available-for-sale, Adjustment, after Tax, Total	2,604,000		2,081,000
AOCI Tax, Attributable to Parent	677,000		437,000
Debt Securities [Member]
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Available-for-sale Securities Adjustment, before Tax, Portion Attributable to Parent, Total	69,000	34,000
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Securities, Available-for-Sale, Unrealized Holding Gain (Loss) Arising During Period, Tax	20,000	8,000
AOCI, Debt Securities, Available-for-sale, Adjustment, after Tax, Total	112,000		43,000
AOCI Tax, Attributable to Parent	29,000		$ 9,000
Proceeds from Sale and Maturity of Debt Securities, Available-for-sale, Total	$ 5,223,000	$ 4,638,000

XML

Note 11 - Treasury Stock and Repurchase Program (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes Tables

Class of Treasury Stock [Table Text Block]

(in thousands except for shares and cost per share)	Shares		Total Average Cost Assigned		Average Cost per Share		Aggregate Purchase Price Remaining Under the Program
Balance as of April 30, 2019 (1), (2), (3)		336,439	$	4,743	$	14.10	$	1,438
Purchases effected in open market during the quarters ended:
July 31, 2019		3,857		92		23.88		1,346
October 31, 2019		12,636		301		23.78		1,045
January 31, 2020		7,523		179		23.85		866
Balance as of January 31, 2020		360,455	$	5,315	$	14.75	$	866

XML

Note 2 - Investments

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Investments in Debt and Marketable Equity Securities (and Certain Trading Assets) Disclosure [Text Block]

Note

2

- Investments:

Securities Available-for-Sale:

Investments held by the Company and its subsidiaries are classified as securities available-for-sale in accordance with FASB's ASC

320,

Investments - Debt and Equity Securities.  All of the Company's securities classified as available-for-sale were readily marketable or had a maturity of

twelve

months or less and are classified as current assets on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.

Equity Securities:

Equity securities classified as available-for-sale on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets, consist of ETFs held for dividend yield that attempt to replicate the performance of certain equity indexes and ETFs that hold preferred shares primarily of financial institutions.

As of

January 31, 2020

and

April 30, 2019,

the aggregate cost of the equity securities classified as available-for-sale, which consist of investments in the SPDR Series Trust S&P Dividend ETF (SDY), First Trust Value Line Dividend Index ETF (FVD), INVESCO Financial Preferred ETF (PGF), Select Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), First Trust Value Line

100

ETF (FVL), ProShares Trust S&P

500

Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL), iShares Select Dividend ETF (DVY) and equity securities portfolio under EAM management held at Charles Schwab was  a combined total of

$10,257,000

and

$8,541,000,

respectively, and the fair value was

$12,861,000

and

$10,622,000,

respectively.

There were

no

sales or proceeds from sales of equity securities during the

nine

months ended

January 31, 2020

or

January 31, 2019. 

The increase in gross unrealized gains on equity securities classified as available-for-sale of

$523,000,

net of deferred  taxes of

$240,000

was included in Shareholders' Equity on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet at

January 31, 2020. 

The increase in gross unrealized gains on equity securities classified as available-for-sale of

$404,000,

net of deferred  taxes of

$85,000

was included in Shareholders' Equity on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet at

January 31, 2019.

The changes in the value of equity securities investments are recorded in Other Comprehensive Income in the Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements.  Realized gains and losses are recorded as of the trade date in the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income when securities are sold, mature or are redeemed.  As of

January 31, 2020

and

April 30, 2019,

accumulated other comprehensive income included unrealized  gains of

$2,604,000

and

$2,081,000,

net of deferred taxes of

$677,000

and

$437,000,

respectively.

The carrying value and fair value of securities available-for-sale at

January 31, 2020

were as follows:

			Gross Unrealized
($ in thousands)	Cost		Holding Gains		Fair Value
ETFs and equities	$	10,257	$	2,604	$	12,861

The carrying value and fair value of securities available-for-sale at

April 30, 2019

were as follows:

			Gross Unrealized
($ in thousands)	Cost		Holding Gains		Fair Value
ETFs - equities	$	8,541	$	2,081	$	10,622

Government Debt Securities (Fixed Income Securities):

Fixed income securities consist of certificates of deposits and securities issued by federal, state and local governments within the United States.  The aggregate cost and fair value at

January 31, 2020

of fixed income securities classified as available-for-sale were as follows:

	Amortized		Gross Unrealized
($ in thousands)	Historical Cost		Holding Gains		Fair Value
Maturity
Due within 1 year	$	11,622	$	104	$	11,726
Due 1 year through 5 years		1,250		8		1,258
Total investment in government debt securities	$	12,872	$	112	$	12,984

The aggregate cost and fair value at

April 30, 2019

of fixed income securities classified as available-for-sale were as follows:

	Amortized		Gross Unrealized
($ in thousands)	Historical Cost		Holding Gains		Fair Value
Maturity
Due within 1 year	$	6,913	$	33	$	6,946
Due 1 year through 5 years		4,250		10		4,260
Total investment in government debt securities	$	11,163	$	43	$	11,206

Proceeds from maturities and sales of government debt securities classified as available-for-sale during the

nine

months ended

January 31, 2020

and

January 31, 2019,

were

$5,223,000

and

$4,638,000,

respectively.  The increase in gross unrealized gains of

$69,000

on fixed income securities classified as available-for-sale net of deferred income tax of

$20,000,

was included in Shareholders' Equity on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet as of

January 31, 2020. 

The increase in gross unrealized  gains of

$34,000

on fixed income securities classified as available-for-sale net of deferred income tax of

$8,000,

was included in Shareholders' Equity on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet as of

January 31, 2019. 

As of

January 31, 2020

and

April 30, 2019,

accumulated other comprehensive income included unrealized  gains of

$112,000

and

$43,000,

net of deferred taxes of

$29,000

  and

$9,000,

respectively.

The average yield on the Government debt securities classified as available-for-sale at

January 31, 2020

and

April 30, 2019

was

2.30%

and

2.09%,

respectively.

Income from Securities Transactions:

Income from securities transactions was comprised of the following:

	Three Months Ended January 31,				Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020		2019		2020		2019
Dividend income	$	95	$	71	$	247	$	200
Interest income		66		55		203		139
Other		6		14		1		38
Total income from securities transactions, net	$	167	$	140	$	451	$	377

Investment in Unconsolidated Entities:

Equity Method Investment:

As of

January 31, 2020

and

April 30, 2019,

the Company's investment in EAM Trust on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets was

$59,612,000

and

$58,625,000,

respectively.

The value of VLI’s investment in EAM at

January 31, 2020

and

April 30, 2019

reflects the fair value of contributed capital of

$

55,805,000

at inception which included

$

5,820,000

of cash and liquid securities in excess of working capital requirements contributed to EAM’s capital account by VLI, plus VLI's share of non-voting revenues and non-voting profits from EAM less distributions, made quarterly to VLI by EAM, during the period subsequent to its initial investment through the dates of the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.

It is anticipated that EAM will have sufficient liquidity and earn enough profit to conduct its current and future operations such that EAM will

not

need additional funding.

The Company monitors its Investment in EAM Trust for impairment to determine whether an event or change in circumstances has occurred that

may

have a significant adverse effect on the fair value of the investment.  Impairment indicators include, but are

not

limited to the following: (a) a significant deterioration in the earnings performance, asset quality, or business prospects of the investee, (b) a significant adverse change in the regulatory, economic, or technological environment of the investee, (c) a significant adverse change in the general market condition of the industry in which the investee operates, or (d) factors that raise significant concerns about the investee’s ability to continue as a going concern such as negative cash flows, working capital deficiencies, or noncompliance with statutory capital and regulatory requirements.  EAM did

not

record any impairment losses for its assets during the fiscal years

2020

or

2019.

The components of EAM’s investment management operations, provided to the Company by EAM, were as follows:

	Three Months Ended January 31,				Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands) (unaudited)	2020		2019		2020		2019
Investment management fees earned from the Value Line Funds, net of waivers shown below	$	5,921	$	3,987	$	16,531	$	12,277
12b-1 fees and other fees, net of waivers shown below	$	2,210	$	1,625	$	6,275	$	5,056
Other income	$	89	$	109	$	147	$	153
Investment management fee waivers and reimbursements	$	15	$	108	$	233	$	329
12b-1 fee waivers	$	178	$	149	$	517	$	483
Value Line’s non-voting revenues interest	$	3,033	$	1,997	$	8,389	$	6,060
EAM's net income (1)	$	844	$	426	$	1,990	$	1,610

(

1

) Represents EAM's net income, after giving effect to Value Line’s non-voting revenues interest, but before distributions to voting profits interest holders and to the Company in respect of its

50%

non-voting profits interest.

	January 31,			April 30,
($ in thousands)	2020			2019
	(unaudited)
EAM's total assets	$	62,371		$	60,683
EAM's total liabilities (1)		(5,293	)		(3,547	)
EAM's total equity	$	57,078		$	57,136

(

1

) At

January 31, 2020

and

April 30, 2019,

EAM's total liabilities included a payable to VLI for its accrued non-voting revenues interest and non-voting profits interest of

$3,413,000

and

$2,420,000,

respectively.

XML

Note 6 - Comprehensive Income

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Comprehensive Income (Loss) Note [Text Block]

Note

6

- Comprehensive Income:

The FASB's ASC Comprehensive Income topic requires the reporting of comprehensive income in addition to net income from operations.  Comprehensive income is a more inclusive financial reporting methodology that includes disclosure of certain financial information that otherwise would

not

be recognized in the calculation of net income.

As of

January 31, 2020

and

January 31, 2019,

the Company held equity securities consisting primarily of ETFs with high relative dividend yields that are classified as securities available-for-sale on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.  As of

January 31, 2020

and

January 31, 2019,

the Company also had fixed income securities consisting of certificates of deposits and securities issued by federal, state and local governments within the United States that are classified as securities available-for-sale on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.  The change in valuation of these securities, net of deferred income taxes, has been recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income in the Company's Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.

The components of comprehensive income included in the Consolidated  Condensed Statements of Income and Changes in Shareholders' Equity for the

nine

months ended

January 31, 2020

are as follows:

($ in thousands)	Amount Before Tax		Tax Expense			Amount Net of Tax
Change in unrealized gains on securities	$	592	$	(260	)	$	332
	$	592	$	(260	)	$	332

The components of comprehensive income included in the Consolidated  Condensed Statements of Income and Changes in Shareholders' Equity for the

nine

months ended

January 31, 2019

are as follows:

($ in thousands)	Amount Before Tax		Tax Expense			Amount Net of Tax
Change in unrealized gains on securities	$	438	$	(93	)	$	345
	$	438	$	(93	)	$	345

XML

Note 10 - Accounting for the Costs of Computer Software Developed for Internal Use

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Internal Use Software Disclosure [Text Block]

Note

10

- Accounting for the Costs of Computer Software Developed for Internal Use:

The Company has adopted the provisions of the Statement of Position

98

-

1

(SOP

98

-

1

), "Accounting for the Costs of Computer Software Developed for Internal Use".  SOP

98

-

1

requires companies to capitalize as long-lived assets many of the costs associated with developing or purchasing software for internal use and amortize those costs over the software's estimated useful life in a systematic and rational manner.  Such costs, when incurred, are capitalized and amortized over the expected useful life of the asset, normally

3

to

5

years.  During  the

nine

months ended

January 31, 2019

the Company capitalized

$98,000

of

third

party programmers' costs related to the development of software for internal use.  Total amortization expenses during the

nine

months ended 

January 31, 2020

and

January 31, 2019,

were

$52,000

and

$107,000,

respectively.

The Company  did

not

incur and did

not

capitalize expenditures related to

third

party programmers' costs or to the development of software for internal use during the

nine

months ended

January 31, 2020.

XML

Note 8 - Federal, State and Local Income Taxes - Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation (Details)	9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019
U.S. statutory federal tax rate	21.00%	21.00%
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit	6.20%	3.45%
Effect of dividends received deductions	(0.20%)	(0.25%)
Other, net	0.05%
Effective income tax rate	27.05%	24.20%

XML

Note 11 - Treasury Stock and Repurchase Program - Treasury Stock at Cost (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands		1 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
		Jan. 31, 2020	Oct. 31, 2019	Jul. 31, 2019	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019	Apr. 30, 2019	[1],[2],[3]
Balance, shares (in shares)	[1],[2],[3]				336,439
Balance, total average cost assigned	[1],[2],[3]				$ 4,743
Balance, average cost per share (in dollars per share)	[1],[2],[3]				$ 14.10
Balance, aggregate purchase price remaining under the program		$ 866	$ 1,045	$ 1,346	$ 866		$ 1,438
Purchases effected in open market, shares (in shares)		7,523	12,636	3,857
Purchases effected in open market, total average cost assigned		$ 179	$ 301	$ 92	$ 572	$ 331
Purchases effected in open market, average cost per share (in dollars per share)		$ 23.85	$ 23.78	$ 23.88
Balance, shares (in shares)		360,455			360,455
Balance, total average cost assigned		$ 5,315			$ 5,315
Balance, average cost per share (in dollars per share)		$ 14.75			$ 14.75

[1] Includes 207,047 shares that were acquired during the $3 million repurchase program which was authorized in September 2012 and expired in October 2018.

[2] Includes 49,789 shares that were acquired during the $2 million repurchase program which was authorized in October 2018.

[3] Includes 85,219 shares that were acquired during the former repurchase program which was authorized in January 2011 and expired in January 2012; 18,400 shares were acquired prior to January 2011.

XML

Note 14 - Concentration (Details Textual) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax	$ 10,803,000	$ 9,052,000	$ 30,500,000	$ 27,074,000
One Single Customer [Member] | Customer Concentration Risk [Member] | Revenue Benchmark [Member]
Concentration Risk, Percentage			30.85%

XML

Consolidated Condensed Statement of Changes in Shareholders' Equity (Unaudited) (Parentheticals) - $ / shares	1 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2019	Jul. 31, 2019	Oct. 31, 2018	Jul. 31, 2018	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019
Dividends declared per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.20	$ 0.20	$ 0.19	$ 0.19	$ 0.20	$ 0.19

XML

Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income (Unaudited) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019
Revenues:
Revenues	$ 10,803,000	$ 9,052,000	$ 30,500,000	$ 27,074,000
Expenses:
Advertising and promotion	748,000	893,000	2,393,000	2,455,000
Salaries and employee benefits	4,523,000	4,417,000	13,299,000	13,164,000
Production and distribution	1,198,000	1,226,000	3,608,000	3,809,000
Office and administration	1,205,000	1,103,000	3,417,000	3,203,000
Total expenses	7,674,000	7,639,000	22,717,000	22,631,000
Income from operations	3,129,000	1,413,000	7,783,000	4,443,000
Revenues and profits interests in EAM Trust	3,455,000	2,210,000	9,384,000	6,865,000
Income from securities transactions, net	167,000	140,000	451,000	377,000
Income before income taxes	6,751,000	3,763,000	17,618,000	11,685,000
Income tax provision	1,799,000	1,312,000	4,765,000	2,828,000
Net income	$ 4,952,000	$ 2,451,000	$ 12,853,000	$ 8,857,000
Earnings per share, basic & fully diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.51	$ 0.25	$ 1.33	$ 0.91
Weighted average number of common shares (in shares)	9,640,949	9,687,252	9,652,805	9,688,681
Subscription and Circulation [Member]
Revenues:
Revenues	$ 7,108,000	$ 7,201,000	$ 21,090,000	$ 21,755,000
License [Member]
Revenues:
Revenues	$ 3,695,000	$ 1,851,000	$ 9,410,000	$ 5,319,000

XML

Note 7 - Related Party Transactions (Details Textual) - USD ($)	6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2019	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019	Apr. 30, 2019
Percentage of Non Voting Revenues Interest in Unconsolidated Entity		51.03%
Federal Income Tax Payments to Parent		$ 3,325,000	$ 2,050,000
Ownership Percentage By Parent		89.57%
Value Line Inc [Member]
Revenue from Related Parties		$ 259,000	256,000
Accounts Receivable, Related Parties		0		$ 0
EAM Trust [Member]
Assets under Management, Carrying Amount		$ 3,750,000,000	$ 2,680,000,000
Percentage of Assets Increased (Decreased) in Unconsolidated Entities		40.00%
Non Voting Profits Interest Percent	50.00%	50.00%
Accrued Non Voting Revenues and Non Voting Profits Interests Payable		$ 3,413,000		$ 2,420,000
EAM Trust [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Non Voting Revenues Interest Percent	41.00%	41.00%
Percentage of Non Voting Profits Interests Due from Ex Subsidiary Payable to Parent under Agreement	90.00%	90.00%
EAM Trust [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Non Voting Revenues Interest Percent	55.00%	55.00%

XML

Note 3 - Variable Interest Entity - Total Assets, the Maximum Exposure to Loss, and Value of the Assets and Liabilities in EAM (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		Jan. 31, 2020	Apr. 30, 2019
Assets		$ 105,664	$ 91,788
Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | EAM Trust [Member]
Investment in EAM Trust	[1]	59,612	58,625
Value Line Liabilities
Value Line Maximum Exposure to Loss		59,612	58,625
EAM Trust [Member]
Assets		$ 62,371	$ 60,683

[1] Reported within Long-Term Assets on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.

XML

Note 14 - Concentration

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Concentration Risk Disclosure [Text Block]

Note

14

- Concentration:

During the 

nine

months ended

January 31, 2020,

30.85%

of total publishing revenues of

$30,500,000

were derived from a single customer.

XML

Note 2 - Investments (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes Tables

Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities Reconciliation [Table Text Block]

			Gross Unrealized
($ in thousands)	Cost		Holding Gains		Fair Value
ETFs and equities	$	10,257	$	2,604	$	12,861

			Gross Unrealized
($ in thousands)	Cost		Holding Gains		Fair Value
ETFs - equities	$	8,541	$	2,081	$	10,622

	Amortized		Gross Unrealized
($ in thousands)	Historical Cost		Holding Gains		Fair Value
Maturity
Due within 1 year	$	11,622	$	104	$	11,726
Due 1 year through 5 years		1,250		8		1,258
Total investment in government debt securities	$	12,872	$	112	$	12,984

	Amortized		Gross Unrealized
($ in thousands)	Historical Cost		Holding Gains		Fair Value
Maturity
Due within 1 year	$	6,913	$	33	$	6,946
Due 1 year through 5 years		4,250		10		4,260
Total investment in government debt securities	$	11,163	$	43	$	11,206

Investment Income [Table Text Block]

	Three Months Ended January 31,				Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020		2019		2020		2019
Dividend income	$	95	$	71	$	247	$	200
Interest income		66		55		203		139
Other		6		14		1		38
Total income from securities transactions, net	$	167	$	140	$	451	$	377

Investment Holdings, Other than Securities [Table Text Block]

	Three Months Ended January 31,				Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands) (unaudited)	2020		2019		2020		2019
Investment management fees earned from the Value Line Funds, net of waivers shown below	$	5,921	$	3,987	$	16,531	$	12,277
12b-1 fees and other fees, net of waivers shown below	$	2,210	$	1,625	$	6,275	$	5,056
Other income	$	89	$	109	$	147	$	153
Investment management fee waivers and reimbursements	$	15	$	108	$	233	$	329
12b-1 fee waivers	$	178	$	149	$	517	$	483
Value Line’s non-voting revenues interest	$	3,033	$	1,997	$	8,389	$	6,060
EAM's net income (1)	$	844	$	426	$	1,990	$	1,610

Summary Investment Holdings [Table Text Block]

	January 31,			April 30,
($ in thousands)	2020			2019
	(unaudited)
EAM's total assets	$	62,371		$	60,683
EAM's total liabilities (1)		(5,293	)		(3,547	)
EAM's total equity	$	57,078		$	57,136

XML

Document And Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	Mar. 10, 2020
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	VALUE LINE INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000717720
Trading Symbol	valu
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--04-30
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Interactive Data Current	Yes
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		9,636,471
Entity Shell Company	false
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jan. 31, 2020
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2020
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Amendment Flag	false
Title of 12(b) Security	Common stock, $0.10 par value per share

XML

Consolidated Condensed Statements of Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019
Net income	$ 4,952	$ 2,451	$ 12,853	$ 8,857
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:
Change in unrealized gains (losses) on securities, net of taxes	(30)	164	332	345
Other comprehensive income (loss)	(30)	164	332	345
Comprehensive income	$ 4,922	$ 2,615	$ 13,185	$ 9,202

XML

Note 15 - Concentration of Credit Risk (Details Textual) - USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019
Cash, Uninsured Amount	$ 1,782,000	$ 2,650,000

XML

Note 1 - Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure and Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]

Note

1

- Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies:

Value Line, Inc. ("Value Line" or "VLI", and collectively with its subsidiaries, the “Company”) is incorporated in the State of New York.  The name "Value Line" as used to describe the Company, its products, and its subsidiaries, is a registered trademark of the Company.  The Company's core business is producing investment periodicals and their underlying research and making available certain Value Line copyrights, Value Line trademarks and Value Line Proprietary Ranking System results and other proprietary information, to

third

parties under written agreements for use in

third

-party managed and marketed investment products and for other purposes.  The Company maintains a significant investment in EULAV Asset Management ("EAM")  from which it receives payments in respect of the Company's non-voting revenues interest  and non-voting profits interest.   EAM was established to provide investment management services to the Value Line Mutual Funds ("Value Line Funds" or the "Funds").

The Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets as of

January 31, 2020

and

April 30, 2019,

which have been derived from the unaudited interim Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements and the audited Consolidated Financial Statements, respectively,  were prepared following the interim reporting requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  In the opinion of management, the accompanying Unaudited Interim Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements contain all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals except as noted below) considered necessary for a fair presentation.  This report should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and footnotes contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form

10

-K for the fiscal year ended

April 30, 2019

filed with the SEC on

July 25, 2019    (

the “Form

10

-K”).   Results of operations covered by this report

may

not

be indicative of the results of operations for the entire year.

Use of Estimates:

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect certain reported amounts and disclosures. Accordingly, actual results

may

differ from those estimates.

Principles of Consolidation:

The Company follows the guidance in the Financial Accounting Standards Board's ("FASB") Topic

810

“Consolidation” to determine if it should consolidate its investment in a variable interest entity ("VIE"). A VIE is a legal entity in which either (i) equity investors do

not

have sufficient equity investment at risk to enable the entity to finance its activities independently or (ii) the equity holders at risk lack the obligation to absorb losses, the right to receive residual returns or the right to make decisions about the entity’s activities that most significantly affect the entity's economic performance.  A holder of a variable interest in a VIE is required to consolidate the entity if it is determined that it has a controlling financial interest in the VIE and is therefore the primary beneficiary.  The determination of a controlling financial interest in a VIE is based on a qualitative assessment to identify the variable interest holder, if any, that has (i) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance, and (ii) either the obligation to absorb losses of the entity or the right to receive benefits from the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE.  The accounting guidance requires the Company to perform an ongoing assessment of whether the Company is the primary beneficiary of a VIE and the Company has determined it is

not

the primary beneficiary of a VIE (see Note

3

).

In accordance with FASB's Topic

810,

the assets, liabilities, and results of operations of subsidiaries in which the Company has a controlling interest have been consolidated.  All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.  On

December 23, 2010,

the Company completed the Restructuring Transaction and deconsolidated the related affiliates in accordance with FASB's Topic

810.

  As part of the Restructuring Transaction, the Company received a significant non-voting revenues interest (excluding distribution revenues) and a significant non-voting profits interest in the new entity, EULAV Asset Management, a Delaware statutory trust (“EAM” or “EAM Trust”).  The Company relied on the guidance in FASB's ASC Topics

323

and

810

in its determination

not

to consolidate its investment in EAM and to account for such investment under the equity method of accounting. The Company reports the amount it receives for its non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests as a separate line item below operating income in the Consolidated Condensed  Statements of Income.

Revenue Recognition:

Depending upon the product, subscription fulfillment for Value Line periodicals and related publications is available in print or digitally, via internet access.  The length of a subscription varies by product and offer received by the subscriber.  Generally, subscriptions are offered as annual subscriptions with the majority of subscriptions paid in advance.  Subscription revenues, net of discounts, are recognized ratably on a straight line basis when the product is served to the client over the life of the subscription.  Accordingly, the amount of subscription fees to be earned by fulfilling subscriptions after the date of the balance sheets are shown as unearned revenue within current and long-term liabilities.

Copyright fees are derived from providing certain Value Line trademarks and the Value Line Proprietary Ranking System results to

third

parties under written agreements for use in selecting securities for

third

party marketed products, including unit investment trusts, annuities and exchange traded funds ("ETFs").  The Company earns asset-based copyright fees upon delivery of the product to the customer as specified in the individual agreements.  Revenue is recognized monthly and received either quarterly or in advance over the term of the agreement and, because it is asset-based, will fluctuate as the market value of the underlying portfolio increases or decreases in value.

Investment in Unconsolidated Entities:

The Company accounts for its investment in its unconsolidated entity, EAM, using the equity method of accounting in accordance with FASB’s ASC

323.

  The equity method is an appropriate means of recognizing increases or decreases measured by GAAP in the economic resources underlying the investments.  Under the equity method, an investor recognizes its share of the earnings or losses of an investee in the periods for which they are reported by the investee in its financial statements rather than in the period in which an investee declares a dividend or distribution. An investor adjusts the carrying amount of an investment for its share of the earnings or losses recognized by the investee.

The Company’s “interests” in EAM, the investment adviser to and the sole member of the distributor of the Value Line Funds, consist of a "non-voting revenues interest" and a "non-voting profits interest" in EAM as defined in the EAM Trust Agreement.  The non-voting revenues interest entitles the Company to receive a range of

41%

to

55%,

based on the amount of EAM’s adjusted gross revenues, excluding EULAV Securities' distribution revenues (“Revenues Interest”).  The non-voting profits interest entitles the Company to receive

50%

of EAM's profits, subject to certain limited adjustments as defined in the EAM Trust Agreement (“Profits Interest”).  The Revenues Interest and at least

90%

of the Profits Interest are to be distributed each quarter to all interest holders of EAM, including Value Line.  Subsequent to the Restructuring Date, the Company's Revenues Interest in EAM excludes participation in the service and distribution fees of EAM's subsidiary EULAV Securities.  The Company reflects its non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM as non-operating income under the equity method of accounting subsequent to the Restructuring Transaction.  Although the Company does

not

have control over the operating and financial policies of EAM, pursuant to the EAM Trust Agreement, the Company has a contractual right to receive its share of EAM's revenues and profits.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements:

In

February 2016,

the FASB issued ASU

No.

2016

-

02,

“Leases (Topic

842

)”.  This ASU requires that, for leases longer than

one

year, a lessee recognize in the statements of financial position a right-of-use asset, representing the right to use the underlying asset for the lease term, and a lease liability, representing the liability to make lease payments. It also requires that for finance leases, a lessee recognize interest expense on the lease liability, separately from the amortization of the right-of-use asset in the statements of earnings, while for operating leases, such amounts should be recognized as a combined expense. The Company adopted this ASU in

May 2019

under a modified retrospective approach (see Note

12

).

In

August 2016,

the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update

No.

2016

-

15,

Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (a consensus of the Emerging Issues Task Force) (“ASU

2016

-

15”

), effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after

December 15, 2017,

and interim periods within those fiscal years. The amendments in ASU

2016

-

15

address

eight

specific cash flow issues and apply to all entities that are required to present a statement of cash flows under ASC Topic

230,

Statement of Cash Flows.  The Company has adopted ASU

2016

-

15

in the

first

quarter of fiscal

2019.

The FASB issued ASU

No.

2014

-

09,

“Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic

606

)”, which requires an entity to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which it expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In addition, ASU

No.

2014

-

09

requires disclosures of the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. ASU

No.

2014

-

09

supersedes most existing U.S. GAAP revenue recognition principles, and it permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. ASU

No.

2014

-

09

is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after

December 15, 2017,

including interim periods within those annual periods.  The Company has adopted ASU

No.

2014

-

09

in the

first

quarter of fiscal

2019,

which does

not

have a material impact on the Company's consolidated condensed financial statements and related disclosures.

In

November 2016,

the FASB issued ASU

No.

2016

-

18,

"Statement of Cash Flows (Topic

230

):  Restricted Cash (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force)", effective for annual reporting periods beginning after

December 15, 2017,

including interim periods within those annual periods.  This ASU requires that the reconciliation of the beginning-of-period and end-of-period amounts shown in the statement of cash flows include cash, cash equivalents and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents.     The Company has adopted ASU

No.

2016

-

18

in the

first

quarter of fiscal

2019,

which does

not

have a material impact on the Company's consolidated condensed financial statements and related disclosures.

On

June 21, 2018,

the United States Supreme Court reversed the

1992

ruling in

Quill,

which protected firms delivering items by common carrier into a state where it had

no

physical presence from having to collect sales tax in such state.  The Company has  integrated the effects of the various state laws into its operations and continues to do so.

Valuation of Securities:

The Company's securities classified as cash equivalents and available-for-sale consist of shares of money market funds that invest primarily in short-term U.S. Government securities and investments in equities including ETFs and are valued in accordance with the requirements of the Fair Value Measurements Topic of the FASB's ASC

820.

  The securities classified as available-for-sale reflected in the Consolidated Balance Sheets are valued at market and unrealized gains and losses, net of applicable taxes, are reported as a separate component of shareholders' equity. Realized gains and losses on sales of the securities classified as available-for-sale are recorded in earnings as of the trade date and are determined on the identified cost method.

The Company classifies its securities available-for-sale as current assets to properly reflect its liquidity and to recognize the fact that it has liquid assets available-for-sale should the need arise.

Market valuations of securities listed on a securities exchange and ETF shares are based on the closing sales prices on the last business day of each month. The market value of the Company's fixed maturity U.S. Government debt securities is determined utilizing publicly quoted market prices.  Cash equivalents consist of investments in money market funds that invest primarily in U.S. Government securities valued in accordance with rule

2a

-

7

under the

1940

Act.

The Fair Value Measurements Topic of FASB's ASC defines fair value as the price that the Company would receive upon selling an investment in a timely transaction to an independent buyer in the principal or most advantageous market for the investment. The  Fair Value Measurements Topic established a

three

-tier hierarchy to maximize the use of observable market data and minimize the use of unobservable inputs and to establish classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes. Inputs refer broadly to the information that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk. Examples of risks include those inherent in a particular valuation technique used to measure fair value such as the risk inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. Inputs are classified as observable or unobservable. Observable inputs are inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the factors market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on the best information available in the circumstances.

The

three

-tier hierarchy of inputs is summarized in the

three

broad levels listed below.

Level

1

– quoted prices in active markets for identical investments

Level

2

– other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.)

Level

3

– significant unobservable inputs (including the Company’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following summarizes the levels of fair value measurements of the Company’s investments:

	As of January 31, 2020
($ in thousands)	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Cash equivalents	$	2,739	$	-	$	-	$	2,739
Securities available-for-sale		25,845		-		-		25,845
	$	28,584	$	-	$	-	$	28,584

	As of April 30, 2019
($ in thousands)	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Cash equivalents	$	5,617	$	-	$	-	$	5,617
Securities available-for-sale		21,828		-		-		21,828
	$	27,445	$	-	$	-	$	27,445

The Company had

no

other financial instruments such as futures, forwards and swap contracts. For the periods ended

January 31, 2020

and

April 30, 2019,

there were

no

Level

2

nor Level

3

investments. The Company does

not

have any liabilities that are subject to fair value measurement.

Advertising expenses:

The Company expenses advertising costs as incurred.

Income Taxes:

The Company computes its income tax provision in accordance with the Income Tax Topic of the FASB's ASC.  Deferred tax liabilities and assets are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been reflected in the Consolidated Condensed  Financial Statements. Deferred tax liabilities and assets are determined based on the differences between the book values and the tax bases of particular assets and liabilities, using tax rates currently in effect for the years in which the differences are expected to reverse.  The Company adopted the provisions of ASU

2015

-

17,

Income taxes (Topic

740

) during the

first

quarter of fiscal

2018

and now classifies all deferred taxes as long-term liabilities on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.

The Income Tax Topic of the FASB's ASC establishes for all entities, a minimum threshold for financial statement recognition of the benefit of positions taken in filing tax returns (including whether an entity is taxable in a particular jurisdiction), and requires certain expanded tax disclosures.  As of

January 31, 2020,

management has reviewed the tax positions for the years still subject to tax audit under the statute of limitations, evaluated the implications, and determined that there is

no

material impact to the Company's financial statements.

Earnings per share:

Earnings per share are based on the weighted average number of shares of common stock and common stock equivalents outstanding during each period. Any shares that are reacquired during the period are weighted for the portion of the period that they are outstanding.  The Company does

not

have any potentially dilutive common shares from outstanding stock options, warrants, restricted stock, or restricted stock units.

Cash and Cash Equivalents:

For purposes of the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Cash Flows, the Company considers all cash held at banks and short term liquid investments with an original maturity of less than

three

months to be cash and cash equivalents. As of

January 31, 2020

and

April 30, 2019,

cash equivalents included

$2,739,000

and

$5,617,000,

respectively, for amounts invested in money market mutual funds that invest in short term U.S. government securities.

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Note 6 - Comprehensive Income - Components of Comprehensive Income (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019
Change in unrealized gains (losses) on securities, amount before tax			$ 592	$ 438
Change in unrealized gains (losses) on securities, tax expense			(260)	(93)
Change in unrealized gains (losses) on securities, amount net of tax			332	345
Other comprehensive income (loss), available-for-sale securities adjustment, amount before tax			592	438
Other comprehensive income (loss), available-for-sale securities, tax expense			(260)	(93)
Other comprehensive income (loss), available-for-sale securities adjustment, amount net of tax	$ (30)	$ 164	$ 332	$ 345

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Note 3 - Variable Interest Entity (Details Textual)	6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2019	Jan. 31, 2020
EAM Trust [Member]
Non Voting Profits Interest Percent	50.00%	50.00%

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Note 15 - Concentration of Credit Risk

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Concentration of Credit Risk [Text Block]

Note

15

- Concentration of Credit Risk:

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist principally of cash deposits. Accounts at each institution are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) up to

$250,000.

As of

January 31, 2020

and

January 31, 2019,

the Company had

$1,782,000

and

$2,650,000,

respectively, in excess of the FDIC insured limit.  Management has concluded the excess does

not

represent a material risk, based on the creditworthiness  of the counter parties.

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Note 3 - Variable Interest Entity (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes Tables

Schedule of Variable Interest Entities [Table Text Block]

	Value Line
($ in thousands)	VIE Assets		Investment in EAM Trust (1)		Liabilities		Maximum Exposure to Loss
As of January 31, 2020 (unaudited)	$	62,371	$	59,612	$	-	$	59,612
As of April 30, 2019	$	60,683	$	58,625	$	-	$	58,625

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Note 1 - Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Schedule of Fair Value Measurements of Investments (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Jan. 31, 2020	Apr. 30, 2019
Securities available-for-sale	$ 25,845	$ 21,828
	28,584	27,445
Money Market Funds [Member]
Cash equivalents	2,739	5,617
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member]
Securities available-for-sale	25,845	21,828
	28,584	27,445
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Money Market Funds [Member]
Cash equivalents	2,739	5,617
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member]
Securities available-for-sale
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Money Market Funds [Member]
Cash equivalents
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member]
Securities available-for-sale
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Money Market Funds [Member]
Cash equivalents

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Note 9 - Property and Equipment (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes Tables

Property, Plant and Equipment [Table Text Block]

	January 31,			April 30,
($ in thousands)	2020			2019
Building and leasehold improvements	$	1,013		$	1,013
Operating lease - right-of-use asset		8,799			-
Furniture and equipment		4,046			4,042
		13,858			5,055
Accumulated depreciation and amortization		(4,060	)		(3,909	)
Total property and equipment, net	$	9,798		$	1,146

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Note 11 - Treasury Stock and Repurchase Program

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Treasury Stock [Text Block]

Note

11

- Treasury Stock and Repurchase Program:

On

October 19, 2018,

the Company's Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program authorizing the repurchase of shares of the Company’s common stock up to an aggregate purchase price of

$2,000,000.

  The repurchases

may

be made from time to time on the open market at prevailing market prices, in negotiated transactions off the market, in block purchases or otherwise. The repurchase program

may

be suspended or discontinued at any time at the Company’s discretion and has

no

set expiration date.

Treasury stock, at cost, consists of the following:

(in thousands except for shares and cost per share)	Shares		Total Average Cost Assigned		Average Cost per Share		Aggregate Purchase Price Remaining Under the Program
Balance as of April 30, 2019 (1), (2), (3)		336,439	$	4,743	$	14.10	$	1,438
Purchases effected in open market during the quarters ended:
July 31, 2019		3,857		92		23.88		1,346
October 31, 2019		12,636		301		23.78		1,045
January 31, 2020		7,523		179		23.85		866
Balance as of January 31, 2020		360,455	$	5,315	$	14.75	$	866

(

1

) Includes

85,219

shares that were acquired during the former repurchase program which was authorized in

January 2011

and expired in

January 2012; 

18,400

shares were acquired prior to

January 2011.

(

2

) Includes

207,047

shares that were acquired during the

$3

million repurchase program which was authorized in

September 2012

and expired in

October 2018.

(

3

) Includes

49,789

shares that were acquired during the

$2

million repurchase program which was authorized in 

October 2018.

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Note 3 - Variable Interest Entity

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Variable Interest Entity [Text Block]

Note 

3

- Variable Interest Entity

The Company retained a  non-voting revenues interest and a

50%

non-voting profits interest in EAM, which was formed, as a result of the Restructuring Transaction on

December 23, 2010,

to carry on the asset management and mutual fund distribution businesses formerly conducted by the Company.  EAM is considered to be a VIE in relation to the Company.  The Company makes its determination for consolidation of EAM as a VIE based on a qualitative assessment of the purpose and design of EAM, the terms and characteristics of the variable interests in EAM, and the risks EAM is designed to originate and pass through to holders of variable interests.  Other than EAM, the Company does

not

have an interest in any other VIEs.

The Company has determined that it does

not

have a controlling financial interest in EAM because it does

not

have the power to direct the activities of EAM that most significantly impact its economic performance.  Value Line does

not

hold any voting stock of EAM and it does

not

have any involvement in the day-to-day activities or operations of EAM.  Although the EAM Trust Agreement provides Value Line with certain consent rights and contains certain restrictive covenants related to the activities of EAM, these are considered to be protective rights and therefore Value Line does

not

maintain control over EAM.

In addition, although EAM is expected to be profitable, there is a risk that it could operate at a loss.   While all of the profit interest shareholders in EAM are subject to variability based on EAM’s operations risk, Value Line’s non-voting revenues interest in EAM is a preferred interest in the revenues of EAM, rather than a profits interest in EAM, and Value Line accordingly believes it is subject to proportionately less risk than other holders of the profits interests.

The Company has

not

provided any explicit or implicit financial or other support to EAM other than what was contractually agreed to in the EAM Trust Agreement.  Value Line has

no

obligation to fund EAM in the future and, as a result, has

no

exposure to loss beyond its initial investment and any undistributed revenues and profits interests retained in EAM.  The following table presents the total assets of EAM, the maximum exposure to loss due to involvement with EAM, as well as the value of the assets and liabilities the Company has recorded on its Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets for its interest in EAM.

	Value Line
($ in thousands)	VIE Assets		Investment in EAM Trust (1)		Liabilities		Maximum Exposure to Loss
As of January 31, 2020 (unaudited)	$	62,371	$	59,612	$	-	$	59,612
As of April 30, 2019	$	60,683	$	58,625	$	-	$	58,625

(

1

)  Reported within Long-Term Assets on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.

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Note 7 - Related Party Transactions

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Related Party Transactions Disclosure [Text Block]

Note

7

- Related Party Transactions:

Investment Management (overview):

The Company has substantial non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM, the asset manager to the Value Line Mutual Funds.  Accordingly, the Company

no

longer reports this operation as a separate business segment, although it still maintains a significant interest in the cash flows generated by this business and will receive non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests, as discussed below. 

Total assets in the Value Line Funds managed and/or distributed by EAM at

January 31, 2020,

were

$3.75

billion,

40%

above total assets of

$2.68

billion in the Value Line Funds managed and/or distributed  by EAM at

January 31, 2019.

The Company’s non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM entitle it to receive quarterly distributions in a range of

41%

to

55%

of EAM’s revenues (excluding distribution revenues) from EAM’s mutual fund and separate account business and

50%

of the residual profits of EAM (subject to temporary increase in certain limited circumstances).  The Voting Profits Interest Holders will receive the other

50%

of residual profits of EAM.  Distribution is

not

less than

90%

of EAM’s profits payable each fiscal quarter under the provisions of the EAM Trust Agreement.   Value Line’s percent share of EAM’s revenues is calculated each fiscal quarter.  The applicable recent non-voting revenues interest percentage for the

third

quarter of fiscal

2020

was

51.03%.

EAM Trust - VLI's non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests:

The Company holds non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM which entitle the Company to receive from EAM an amount ranging from

41%

to

55%

of EAM's investment management fee revenues from its mutual fund and separate accounts business.  EAM currently has

no

separately managed account fees.  The Company recorded income from its non-voting revenues interest and its non-voting profits interests in EAM as follows:

	Three Months Ended January 31,				Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020		2019		2020		2019
Non-voting revenues interest in EAM	$	3,033	$	1,997	$	8,389	$	6,060
Non-voting profits interest in EAM		422		213		995		805
	$	3,455	$	2,210	$	9,384	$	6,865

At

January 31, 2020,

the Company's investment in EAM includes a receivable of

$3,413,000

representing the quarterly distribution of the non-voting revenues share and non-voting profits share.  That sum was subsequently paid.

Transactions with Parent:

During the

nine

months ended

January 31, 2020

and

January 31, 2019,

the Company was reimbursed

$259,000

and

$256,000,

  respectively, for payments it made on behalf of and for services the Company provided to the Parent Company, Arnold Bernhard and Co., Inc. ("Parent").  There were

no

receivables from the Parent on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets at

January 31, 2020

and

April 30, 2019.

The Company is a party to a tax-sharing arrangement with the Parent which allocates the tax liabilities of the

two

Companies between them.  The Company made federal tax payments of

$3,325,000

and 

$2,050,000

to the Parent during the

nine

months ended

January 31, 2020

and

January 31, 2019,

respectively.

As of

January 31, 2020,

the Parent owned

89.57%

of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company.

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Note 9 - Property and Equipment - Components of Property and Equipment (Details) - USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2020	May 01, 2019	Apr. 30, 2019
Building and leasehold improvements	$ 1,013,000		$ 1,013,000
Operating lease - right-of-use asset	8,799,000	$ 9,575,000
Furniture and equipment	4,046,000		4,042,000
	13,858,000		5,055,000
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(4,060,000)		(3,909,000)
Total property and equipment, net	$ 9,798,000		$ 1,146,000

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Note 12 - Leases (Details Textual) - USD ($)	9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	May 01, 2019	Apr. 30, 2019
Operating Lease, Right-of-Use Asset	$ 8,799,000	$ 9,575,000
Operating Lease, Liability, Total	9,644,000	$ 10,340,000
Lease Incentive Receivable			$ 765,000
Operating Lease, Expense	1,125,000
Operating Lease, Payments	$ 1,047,000

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Note 7 - Related Party Transactions - Non-voting Revenues Interest and Non-voting Profits Interests (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019
Value Line’s non-voting revenues interest	$ 3,033	$ 1,997	$ 8,389	$ 6,060
Non-voting profits interest in EAM	422	213	995	805
	$ 3,455	$ 2,210	$ 9,384	$ 6,865

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Note 4 - Supplementary Cash Flows Information - Supplementary Cash Flow Elements (Details) - USD ($)	9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019	Apr. 30, 2019
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 3,555,000	$ 4,364,000	$ 6,493,000
Restricted cash	469,000	469,000
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash shown in the Consolidated Condensed Statement of Cash Flows	4,024,000	4,833,000
State and local income tax payments	1,089,000	230,000
Federal income tax payments to the Parent	$ 3,325,000	$ 2,050,000

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Note 2 - Investments - Components of EAM's Investment Management Operations (Details) - USD ($)		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
		Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019
Revenues		$ 10,803,000	$ 9,052,000	$ 30,500,000	$ 27,074,000
Value Line’s non-voting revenues interest		3,033,000	1,997,000	8,389,000	6,060,000
EAM's net income (1)		4,952,000	2,451,000	12,853,000	8,857,000
EAM Trust [Member]
Other income		89,000	109,000	147,000	153,000
Investment management fee waivers and reimbursements		15,000	108,000	233,000	329,000
12b-1 fee waivers		178,000	149,000	517,000	483,000
Value Line’s non-voting revenues interest		3,033,000	1,997,000	8,389,000	6,060,000
EAM's net income (1)	[1]	844,000	426,000	1,990,000	1,610,000
EAM Trust [Member] | Investment Advice [Member]
Revenues		5,921,000	3,987,000	16,531,000	12,277,000
EAM Trust [Member] | Distribution and Shareholder Service [Member]
Revenues		$ 2,210,000	$ 1,625,000	$ 6,275,000	$ 5,056,000

[1] Represents EAM's net income, after giving effect to Value Line's non-voting revenues interest, but before distributions to voting profits interest holders and to the Company in respect of its 50% non-voting profits interest.

XML

Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets (Current Period Unaudited) (Parentheticals) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Jan. 31, 2020	Apr. 30, 2019
Short term investments	$ 2,739	$ 5,617
Allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 22	$ 22
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.10	$ 0.10
Common stock, shares authorized (in shares)	30,000,000	30,000,000
Common stock, shares issued (in shares)	10,000,000	10,000,000
Treasury stock, shares (in shares)	360,455	336,439	[1],[2],[3]

[1] Includes 207,047 shares that were acquired during the $3 million repurchase program which was authorized in September 2012 and expired in October 2018.

[2] Includes 49,789 shares that were acquired during the $2 million repurchase program which was authorized in October 2018.

[3] Includes 85,219 shares that were acquired during the former repurchase program which was authorized in January 2011 and expired in January 2012; 18,400 shares were acquired prior to January 2011.

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Consolidated Condensed Statement of Changes in Shareholders' Equity (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Common Stock [Member]	Additional Paid-in Capital [Member]	Treasury Stock [Member]	Retained Earnings [Member]	AOCI Attributable to Parent [Member]	Total
Balance (in shares) at Apr. 30, 2018	10,000,000		(308,380)
Balance at Apr. 30, 2018	$ 1,000	$ 991	$ (4,135)	$ 44,902	$ 783	$ 43,541
Net income				8,857		8,857
Change in unrealized gains on securities, net of taxes					345	345
Purchase of treasury stock (in shares)			(15,724)
Purchase of treasury stock			$ (331)			(331)
Dividends declared				(5,521)		(5,521)
Balance (in shares) at Jan. 31, 2019	10,000,000		(324,104)
Balance at Jan. 31, 2019	$ 1,000	991	$ (4,466)	48,238	1,128	46,891
Balance (in shares) at Apr. 30, 2019	10,000,000		(336,439)
Balance at Apr. 30, 2019	$ 1,000	991	$ (4,743)	48,598	1,678	47,524
Net income				12,853		12,853
Change in unrealized gains on securities, net of taxes					332	332
Purchase of treasury stock (in shares)			(24,016)
Purchase of treasury stock			$ (572)			(572)
Dividends declared				(5,791)		(5,791)
Balance (in shares) at Jan. 31, 2020	10,000,000		(360,455)
Balance at Jan. 31, 2020	$ 1,000	$ 991	$ (5,315)	$ 55,660	$ 2,010	$ 54,346

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Note 13 - Restricted Cash and Deposits

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Restricted Assets Disclosure [Text Block]

Note

13

- Restricted Cash and Deposits:

Restricted Money Market Investment in the noncurrent assets on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet at

January 31, 2020,

includes

$469,000,

which represents cash invested in a bank money market fund securing a letter of credit ("LOC") in the amount of

$469,000

issued to the sublandlord as a security deposit for the Company's New York City leased corporate office facility.

XML

Note 1 - Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes Tables

Fair Value Measurements, Recurring and Nonrecurring [Table Text Block]

	As of January 31, 2020
($ in thousands)	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Cash equivalents	$	2,739	$	-	$	-	$	2,739
Securities available-for-sale		25,845		-		-		25,845
	$	28,584	$	-	$	-	$	28,584

	As of April 30, 2019
($ in thousands)	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Cash equivalents	$	5,617	$	-	$	-	$	5,617
Securities available-for-sale		21,828		-		-		21,828
	$	27,445	$	-	$	-	$	27,445

XML

Note 6 - Comprehensive Income (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes Tables

Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Table Text Block]

($ in thousands)	Amount Before Tax		Tax Expense			Amount Net of Tax
Change in unrealized gains on securities	$	592	$	(260	)	$	332
	$	592	$	(260	)	$	332

($ in thousands)	Amount Before Tax		Tax Expense			Amount Net of Tax
Change in unrealized gains on securities	$	438	$	(93	)	$	345
	$	438	$	(93	)	$	345

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Note 5 - Employees' Profit Sharing and Savings Plan

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Compensation Related Costs, General [Text Block]

Note

5

- Employees' Profit Sharing and Savings Plan:

Substantially all employees of the Company and its subsidiaries are members of the Value Line, Inc. Profit Sharing and Savings Plan (the "Plan").  In general, this is a qualified, contributory plan which provides for a discretionary annual Company contribution which is determined by a formula based on the salaries of eligible employees and the amount of consolidated net operating income as defined in the Plan. For the

nine

months ended

January 31, 2020

and

January 31, 2019,

the estimated profit sharing plan contributions, which are included as expenses in salaries and employee benefits in the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income, were

$423,000

and

$398,000,

respectively.

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Note 9 - Property and Equipment

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Property, Plant and Equipment Disclosure [Text Block]

Note

9

- Property and Equipment:

Property and equipment are carried at cost.  Depreciation and amortization are provided using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, or in the case of leasehold improvements, over the remaining terms of the leases.  For income tax purposes, depreciation of furniture and equipment is computed using accelerated methods and buildings and leasehold improvements are depreciated over prescribed extended tax lives. Property and equipment, net, on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets was comprised of the following:

	January 31,			April 30,
($ in thousands)	2020			2019
Building and leasehold improvements	$	1,013		$	1,013
Operating lease - right-of-use asset		8,799			-
Furniture and equipment		4,046			4,042
		13,858			5,055
Accumulated depreciation and amortization		(4,060	)		(3,909	)
Total property and equipment, net	$	9,798		$	1,146

XML

Note 2 - Investments - Schedule of Carrying Value and Fair Value of Securities Available-for-sale (Details) - USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2020	Apr. 30, 2019
Cost	$ 10,257,000	$ 8,541,000
Fair value	12,861,000	10,622,000
Due within 1 year, amortized cost	11,622,000	6,913,000
Due within 1 year, gross unrealized gains	104,000	33,000
Due within 1 year, fair value	11,726,000	6,946,000
Due 1 year through 5 years, amortized cost	1,250,000	4,250,000
Due 1 year through 5 years, gross unrealized gains	8,000	10,000
Due 1 year through 5 years, fair value	1,258,000	4,260,000
Amortized cost	12,872,000	11,163,000
Gross unrealized gains	112,000	43,000
Fair value	12,984,000	11,206,000
Exchange Traded Funds [Member]
Cost	10,257,000	8,541,000
Gross unrealized gains	2,604,000	2,081,000
Fair value	$ 12,861,000	$ 10,622,000

XML

Note 12 - Leases (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes Tables

Lessee, Operating Lease, Liability, Maturity [Table Text Block]

Fiscal years ended April 30,	(in thousands)
2020 *	$	354
2021		1,432
2022		1,506
2023		1,597
2024		1,634
Thereafter		5,265
Total undiscounted future minimum lease payments		11,788
Less: difference between undiscounted lease payments & the present value of future lease payments		2,144
Total operating lease liabilities	$	9,644

XML

Note 7 - Related Party Transactions (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes Tables

Schedule of Non Voting Revenues Interest and Non Voting Profits Interests [Table Text Block]

	Three Months Ended January 31,				Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020		2019		2020		2019
Non-voting revenues interest in EAM	$	3,033	$	1,997	$	8,389	$	6,060
Non-voting profits interest in EAM		422		213		995		805
	$	3,455	$	2,210	$	9,384	$	6,865

XML

Note 8 - Federal, State and Local Income Taxes - Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Jan. 31, 2020	Apr. 30, 2019
Deferred tax liability	$ 13,253	$ 12,624
Domestic Tax Authority [Member]
Deferred gain on deconsolidation of EAM	10,669	10,669
Deferred non-cash post-employment compensation	(372)	(372)
Depreciation and amortization	108	130
Unrealized gain on securities held for sale	570	446
Deferred charges	(333)	(354)
Other	(58)	(279)
Deferred tax liability	10,584	10,240
State and Local Jurisdiction [Member]
Deferred gain on deconsolidation of EAM	2,676	2,530
Deferred non-cash post-employment compensation	(93)	(74)
Depreciation and amortization	27	40
Unrealized gain on securities held for sale	143
Other	(84)	(112)
Deferred tax liability	$ 2,669	$ 2,384

XML

Note 11 - Treasury Stock and Repurchase Program (Details Textual) - USD ($)		1 Months Ended
	Oct. 30, 2018	Jan. 31, 2020	Oct. 31, 2019	Jul. 31, 2019	Oct. 30, 2018	Jan. 30, 2012	Jan. 31, 2011	Oct. 19, 2018
Treasury Stock, Shares, Acquired		7,523	12,636	3,857
October 2018 Share Repurchase Program [Member]
Stock Repurchase Program, Authorized Amount	$ 2,000,000				$ 2,000,000			$ 2,000,000
Treasury Stock, Shares, Acquired					49,789
Former Repurchase Program [Member]
Treasury Stock, Shares, Acquired						85,219
January 2011 Share Repurchase Program [Member]
Treasury Stock, Shares, Acquired							18,400
September 2012 Share Repurchase Program [Member]
Stock Repurchase Program, Authorized Amount	$ 3,000,000				$ 3,000,000
Treasury Stock, Shares, Acquired	207,047

XML

Note 13 - Restricted Cash and Deposits (Details Textual)	Jan. 31, 2020 USD ($)
Cash Securing a Letter of Credit Issued as Security Deposit [Member]
Security Deposit	$ 469,000

XML

Note 4 - Supplementary Cash Flows Information

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Cash Flow, Supplemental Disclosures [Text Block]

Note

4

- Supplementary Cash Flows Information:

Reconciliation of Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash:

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash reported within the Consolidated Condensed Statement of Cash Flows that sum to the total of the same such amounts shown in the Consolidated Condensed Statement of Cash Flows.

	Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020		2019
Cash and cash equivalents	$	3,555	$	4,364
Restricted cash		469		469
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash shown in the Consolidated Condensed Statement of Cash Flows	$	4,024	$	4,833

Income Tax Payments:

The Company made income tax payments as follows:

	Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020		2019
State and local income tax payments	$	1,089	$	230
Federal income tax payments to the Parent		3,325		2,050

XML

Note 8 - Federal, State and Local Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block]

Note

8

- Federal, State and Local Income Taxes:

In accordance with the requirements of the Income Tax Topic of the FASB's ASC, the Company's provision for income taxes includes the following:

	Three Months Ended January 31,					Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020			2019		2020		2019
Current tax expense:
Federal	$	1,347		$	513	$	3,480	$	2,118
State and local		300			173		915		333
Current tax expense		1,647			686		4,395		2,451
Deferred tax expense (benefit):
Federal		154			429		100		434
State and local		(2	)		197		270		(57	)
Deferred tax expense (benefit):		152			626		370		377
Income tax provision	$	1,799		$	1,312	$	4,765	$	2,828

On

December 22, 2017

H.R.

1,

originally known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Tax Act"), was enacted.  The Tax Act lowered the U.S. federal income tax rate ("Federal Tax Rate") from

35%

to

21%

effective

January 1, 2018. 

Accordingly, the Company computes Federal income tax expense using the Federal Tax Rate of

21%

in fiscal year

2020

and each year thereafter.

The overall effective income tax rates, as a percentage of pre-tax ordinary income for the

nine

months ended

January 31, 2020

and

January 31, 2019

were

27.05%

and

24.20%,

respectively.  The increase in the effective tax rate during the quarter ended

January 31, 2020

is primarily a result of an increase in the state and local income taxes as a result of changes in state and local tax legislation and the effect of the lowering of the NYC tax allocation factor on deferred taxes in fiscal

2019.

  The Company's annualized overall effective tax rate fluctuates due to a number of factors, in addition to changes in tax law, including but

not

limited to an increase or decrease in the ratio of items that do

not

have tax consequences to pre-tax income, the Company's geographic profit mix between tax jurisdictions, taxation method adopted by each locality, new interpretations of existing tax laws and rulings and settlements with tax authorities.

Deferred income taxes, a liability, are provided for temporary differences between the financial reporting basis and the tax basis of the Company's assets and liabilities.  The tax effect of temporary differences giving rise to the Company's long-term deferred tax liability are as follows:

	January 31,			April 30,
($ in thousands)	2020			2019
Federal tax liability (benefit):
Deferred gain on deconsolidation of EAM	$	10,669		$	10,669
Deferred non-cash post-employment compensation		(372	)		(372	)
Depreciation and amortization		108			130
Unrealized gain on securities held for sale		570			446
Deferred charges		(333	)		(354	)
Other		(58	)		(279	)
Total federal tax liability		10,584			10,240
State and local tax liabilities (benefits):
Deferred gain on deconsolidation of EAM		2,676			2,530
Deferred non-cash post-employment compensation		(93	)		(74	)
Depreciation and amortization		27			40
Unrealized gain on securities held for sale		143			-
Other		(84	)		(112	)
Total state and local tax liabilities		2,669			2,384
Deferred tax liability, long-term	$	13,253		$	12,624

At the end of each interim reporting period, the Company estimates the effective income tax rate to apply for the full fiscal year. The Company uses the effective income tax rate determined to provide for income taxes on a year-to-date basis and reflects the tax effect of any tax law changes and certain other discrete events in the period in which they occur.

The provision for income taxes differs from the amount of income tax determined by applying the applicable U.S. statutory income tax rate to pretax income as a result of the following:

	Nine Months Ended January 31,
	2020			2019
U.S. statutory federal tax rate		21.00	%		21.00	%
Increase (decrease) in tax rate from:
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit		6.20	%		3.45	%
Effect of dividends received deductions		(0.20	%)		(0.25	%)
Other, net		0.05	%		-
Effective income tax rate		27.05	%		24.20	%

The Company believes that, as of

January 31, 2020,

there were

no

material uncertain tax positions that would require disclosure under GAAP.

The Company is included in the consolidated federal income tax return of the Parent.  The Company has a tax sharing agreement which requires it to make tax payments to the Parent equal to the Company's liability/(benefit) as if it filed a separate return.  Beginning with the fiscal year ended

April 30, 2017,

the Company files combined income tax returns with the Parent on a unitary basis in certain states as a result of changes in state tax regulations.  The Company does

not

anticipate any significant tax implications from the change to unitary state tax filing.

The Company’s federal income tax returns (included in the Parent’s consolidated returns) and state and city tax returns for fiscal years ended

2016

through

2018,

are subject to examination by the tax authorities, generally for

three

years after they are filed with the tax authorities. The Company is presently engaged in a federal tax audit for the fiscal year ended

April 30, 2015

and does

not

expect it to have a material effect on the financial statements.

XML

Note 1 - Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details Textual) - USD ($)	6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2019	Jan. 31, 2020	Apr. 30, 2019
Money Market Funds, at Carrying Value		$ 2,739,000	$ 5,617,000
EAM Trust [Member]
Non Voting Profits Interest Percent	50.00%	50.00%
EAM Trust [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Non Voting Revenues Interest Percent	41.00%	41.00%
Percentage of Non Voting Profits Interests Due from Ex Subsidiary Payable to Parent under Agreement	90.00%	90.00%
EAM Trust [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Non Voting Revenues Interest Percent	55.00%	55.00%

XML

Note 8 - Federal, State and Local Income Taxes (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes Tables

Schedule of Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit) [Table Text Block]

	Three Months Ended January 31,					Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020			2019		2020		2019
Current tax expense:
Federal	$	1,347		$	513	$	3,480	$	2,118
State and local		300			173		915		333
Current tax expense		1,647			686		4,395		2,451
Deferred tax expense (benefit):
Federal		154			429		100		434
State and local		(2	)		197		270		(57	)
Deferred tax expense (benefit):		152			626		370		377
Income tax provision	$	1,799		$	1,312	$	4,765	$	2,828

Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities [Table Text Block]

	January 31,			April 30,
($ in thousands)	2020			2019
Federal tax liability (benefit):
Deferred gain on deconsolidation of EAM	$	10,669		$	10,669
Deferred non-cash post-employment compensation		(372	)		(372	)
Depreciation and amortization		108			130
Unrealized gain on securities held for sale		570			446
Deferred charges		(333	)		(354	)
Other		(58	)		(279	)
Total federal tax liability		10,584			10,240
State and local tax liabilities (benefits):
Deferred gain on deconsolidation of EAM		2,676			2,530
Deferred non-cash post-employment compensation		(93	)		(74	)
Depreciation and amortization		27			40
Unrealized gain on securities held for sale		143			-
Other		(84	)		(112	)
Total state and local tax liabilities		2,669			2,384
Deferred tax liability, long-term	$	13,253		$	12,624

Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation [Table Text Block]

	Nine Months Ended January 31,
	2020			2019
U.S. statutory federal tax rate		21.00	%		21.00	%
Increase (decrease) in tax rate from:
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit		6.20	%		3.45	%
Effect of dividends received deductions		(0.20	%)		(0.25	%)
Other, net		0.05	%		-
Effective income tax rate		27.05	%		24.20	%

XML

Note 2 - Investments - Income from Securities Transactions (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019
Dividend income	$ 95	$ 71	$ 247	$ 200
Interest income	66	55	203	139
Other	6	14	1	38
Total income from securities transactions, net	$ 167	$ 140	$ 451	$ 377

XML

Note 12 - Leases - Future Minimum Payments (Details) - USD ($)		Jan. 31, 2020	May 01, 2019
2020 *	[1]	$ 354,000
2021		1,432,000
2022		1,506,000
2023		1,597,000
2024		1,634,000
Thereafter		5,265,000
Total undiscounted future minimum lease payments		11,788,000
Less: difference between undiscounted lease payments & the present value of future lease payments		2,144,000
Operating Lease, Liability, Total		$ 9,644,000	$ 10,340,000

[1] Excludes the nine months ended January 31, 2020

XML

Note 8 - Federal, State and Local Income Taxes - Provision for Income Taxes (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019
Federal	$ 1,347	$ 513	$ 3,480	$ 2,118
State and local	300	173	915	333
Current tax expense	1,647	686	4,395	2,451
Federal	154	429	100	434
State and local	(2)	197	270	(57)
Deferred tax expense (benefit):	152	626	370	377
Income tax provision	$ 1,799	$ 1,312	$ 4,765	$ 2,828

XML

Note 10 - Accounting for the Costs of Computer Software Developed for Internal Use (Details Textual) - USD ($)	9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019
Capitalized Computer Software, Additions	$ 0	$ 98,000
Capitalized Computer Software, Amortization	$ 52,000	$ 107,000
Minimum [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Asset, Useful Life	3 years
Maximum [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Asset, Useful Life	5 years

XML

Note 5 - Employees' Profit Sharing and Savings Plan (Details Textual) - USD ($)	9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019
Deferred Compensation Arrangement with Individual, Contributions by Employer	$ 423,000	$ 398,000

XML

Note 2 - Investments - Assets and Liabilities (Details) - EAM Trust [Member] - USD ($) $ in Thousands		Jan. 31, 2020	Apr. 30, 2019
EAM's total assets		$ 62,371	$ 60,683
EAM's total liabilities (1)	[1]	(5,293)	(3,547)
EAM's total equity		$ 57,078	$ 57,136

[1] At January 31, 2020 and April 30, 2019, EAM's total liabilities included a payable to VLI for its accrued non-voting revenues interest and non-voting profits interest of $3,413,000 and $2,420,000, respectively.

XML

Note 8 - Federal, State and Local Income Taxes (Details Textual)	9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Percent, Total	27.05%	24.20%
Open Tax Year	2016 2017 2018

XML

Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets (Current Period Unaudited) - USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2020	Apr. 30, 2019
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents (including short term investments of $2,739 and $5,617, respectively)	$ 3,555,000	$ 6,493,000
Securities available-for-sale	25,845,000	21,828,000
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $22 and $22, respectively	5,165,000	1,504,000
Prepaid and refundable income taxes	96,000	254,000
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	1,041,000	1,335,000
Total current assets	35,702,000	31,414,000
Long term assets:
Investment in EAM Trust	59,612,000	58,625,000
Restricted money market investment	469,000	469,000
Property and equipment, net	9,798,000	1,146,000
Capitalized software and other intangible assets, net	83,000	134,000
Total long term assets	69,962,000	60,374,000
Total assets	105,664,000	91,788,000
Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	1,750,000	2,068,000
Accrued salaries	1,047,000	1,211,000
Dividends payable	1,928,000	1,933,000
Accrued taxes on income		180,000
Operating lease obligation	925,000
Unearned revenue	18,216,000	20,008,000
Total current liabilities	23,866,000	25,400,000
Long term liabilities:
Unearned revenue	5,480,000	5,475,000
Operating lease obligation	8,719,000
Deferred charges		765,000
Deferred income taxes	13,253,000	12,624,000
Total long term liabilities	27,452,000	18,864,000
Total liabilities	51,318,000	44,264,000
Shareholders' Equity:
Common stock, $0.10 par value; authorized 30,000,000 shares; issued 10,000,000 shares	1,000,000	1,000,000
Additional paid-in capital	991,000	991,000
Retained earnings	55,660,000	48,598,000
Treasury stock, at cost (360,455 and 336,439 shares, respectively)	(5,315,000)	(4,743,000)	[1],[2],[3]
Accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax	2,010,000	1,678,000
Total shareholders' equity	54,346,000	47,524,000
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity	$ 105,664,000	$ 91,788,000

[1] Includes 207,047 shares that were acquired during the $3 million repurchase program which was authorized in September 2012 and expired in October 2018.

[2] Includes 49,789 shares that were acquired during the $2 million repurchase program which was authorized in October 2018.

[3] Includes 85,219 shares that were acquired during the former repurchase program which was authorized in January 2011 and expired in January 2012; 18,400 shares were acquired prior to January 2011.

XML

Consolidated Condensed Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	$ 12,853	$ 8,857
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	202	287
Non-voting revenues interest in EAM Trust	(8,389)	(6,060)
Non-voting profits interest in EAM Trust	(995)	(805)
Distributions received from EAM Trust	8,397	6,785
Deferred income taxes	370	377
Deferred rent	78	(67)
Other, net		(45)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Unearned revenue	(1,787)	(1,626)
Accounts payable & accrued expenses	(318)	(403)
Accrued salaries	(164)	(307)
Accrued taxes on income	(182)	1
Prepaid and refundable income taxes	158	231
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	294	95
Accounts receivable	(3,661)	(1,953)
Total adjustments	(5,997)	(3,490)
Net cash provided by operating activities	6,856	5,367
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of equity securities classified as available-for-sale	(1,716)
Purchases of fixed income securities classified as available-for-sale	(6,931)	(5,624)
Proceeds from sales of fixed income securities classified as available-for-sale	5,223	4,638
Acquisition of property and equipment	(2)	(6)
Expenditures for capitalized software		(98)
Net cash used in investing activities	(3,426)	(1,090)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Purchase of treasury stock at cost	(572)	(331)
Dividends paid	(5,796)	(5,523)
Net cash used in financing activities	(6,368)	(5,854)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents	(2,938)	(1,577)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period	6,962	6,410
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period	$ 4,024	$ 4,833

XML

Note 4 - Supplementary Cash Flows Information (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes Tables

Schedule of Cash Flow, Supplemental Disclosures [Table Text Block]

	Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020		2019
Cash and cash equivalents	$	3,555	$	4,364
Restricted cash		469		469
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash shown in the Consolidated Condensed Statement of Cash Flows	$	4,024	$	4,833

	Nine Months Ended January 31,
($ in thousands)	2020		2019
State and local income tax payments	$	1,089	$	230
Federal income tax payments to the Parent		3,325		2,050

XML

Note 12 - Leases

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Lessee, Operating Leases [Text Block]

Note

12

- Leases:

In

February 2016,

the FASB issued ASU

No.

2016

-

02,

“Leases (Topic

842

)”.  This ASU requires that, for leases longer than

one

year, a lessee recognizes in the statements of financial position a right-of-use asset, representing the right to use the underlying asset for the lease term, and a lease liability, representing the liability to make lease payments. It also requires that for finance leases, a lessee recognizes interest expense on the lease liability, separately from the amortization of the right-of-use asset in the statements of earnings, while for operating leases, such amounts should be recognized as a combined expense. The firm adopted this ASU in

May 2019

under a modified retrospective approach.

The Company adopted ASU

2016

-

02

using a modified retrospective transition approach as of the Effective Date as permitted by the amendments in ASU

2018

-

11,

which provides an alternative modified retrospective transition method. As a result, the Company was

not

required to adjust its comparative period financial information for effects of the standard or make the new required lease disclosures for periods before the date of adoption (i.e.

May 1, 2019).

The Company has elected to employ the transitionary relief offered by the FASB and, therefore, has

not

reassessed (

1

) whether existing or expired contracts contain a lease, (

2

) lease classification for existing or expired leases or (

3

) the accounting for initial direct costs that were previously capitalized.

The Company leases office space in New York, NY and a warehouse and appurtenant office space in Lyndhurst, NJ. The Company has evaluated these leases and determined that they are operating leases under the definitions of the guidance of ASU

2016

-

02.

The right-of-use asset is initially measured at cost, which comprises the initial amount of the net present value of the lease liability adjusted for lease payments made at or before the lease commencement date, plus any initial direct costs incurred less any lease incentives received. For operating leases, the right-of-use asset is subsequently measured throughout the lease term at the carrying amount of the net present value of the lease liability, plus initial direct costs, plus (minus) any prepaid (accrued) lease payments, less the unamortized balance of lease incentives received.

On

May 1, 2019,

the Company recorded a right-of-use asset in the amount of

$9,575,000,

which represents the lease liability of

$10,340,000

adjusted for previously recorded unamortized lease incentives in the amount of

$765,000.

The right-of-use asset will be amortized over the remaining lease term in the amount equal to the difference between the calculated straight-line expense of the total lease payments less the monthly interest calculated on the remaining lease liability. As of

January 31, 2020,

the Company had a long-term lease asset of

$8,799,000

recorded in property and equipment in its consolidated condensed balance sheets.

The Company will recognize lease expense, calculated as the remaining cost of the lease allocated over the remaining lease term on a straight-line basis. Lease expense will be presented as part of continuing operations in the consolidated condensed statements of income. For the

nine

months ended

January 31, 2020,

the Company recognized

$1,125,000

in lease expense.

For the

nine

months ended

January 31, 2020,

the Company paid

$1,047,000

in rent relating to the leases. As a payment arising from an operating lease, the

$1,047,000

will be classified within operating activities in the consolidated condensed statements of cash flows.

The Company’s leases generally do

not

provide an implicit interest rate, and therefore the Company estimated an incremental borrowing rate, or IBR, as of the commencement date, to determine the present value of its operating lease liabilities. The IBR is defined under ASC

842

as the rate of interest that the Company would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term for an amount equal to the lease payments in a similar economic environment. The following table reconciles the undiscounted future minimum lease payments to the total operating lease liabilities recognized on the condensed consolidated balance sheet as of

January 31, 2020:

Fiscal years ended April 30,	(in thousands)
2020 *	$	354
2021		1,432
2022		1,506
2023		1,597
2024		1,634
Thereafter		5,265
Total undiscounted future minimum lease payments		11,788
Less: difference between undiscounted lease payments & the present value of future lease payments		2,144
Total operating lease liabilities	$	9,644

* Excludes the

nine

months ended

January 31, 2020

XML

Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Use of Estimates, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Use of Estimates:

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect certain reported amounts and disclosures. Accordingly, actual results

may

differ from those estimates.

Consolidation, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Principles of Consolidation:

The Company follows the guidance in the Financial Accounting Standards Board's ("FASB") Topic

810

“Consolidation” to determine if it should consolidate its investment in a variable interest entity ("VIE"). A VIE is a legal entity in which either (i) equity investors do

not

have sufficient equity investment at risk to enable the entity to finance its activities independently or (ii) the equity holders at risk lack the obligation to absorb losses, the right to receive residual returns or the right to make decisions about the entity’s activities that most significantly affect the entity's economic performance.  A holder of a variable interest in a VIE is required to consolidate the entity if it is determined that it has a controlling financial interest in the VIE and is therefore the primary beneficiary.  The determination of a controlling financial interest in a VIE is based on a qualitative assessment to identify the variable interest holder, if any, that has (i) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance, and (ii) either the obligation to absorb losses of the entity or the right to receive benefits from the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE.  The accounting guidance requires the Company to perform an ongoing assessment of whether the Company is the primary beneficiary of a VIE and the Company has determined it is

not

the primary beneficiary of a VIE (see Note

3

).

In accordance with FASB's Topic

810,

the assets, liabilities, and results of operations of subsidiaries in which the Company has a controlling interest have been consolidated.  All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.  On

December 23, 2010,

the Company completed the Restructuring Transaction and deconsolidated the related affiliates in accordance with FASB's Topic

810.

  As part of the Restructuring Transaction, the Company received a significant non-voting revenues interest (excluding distribution revenues) and a significant non-voting profits interest in the new entity, EULAV Asset Management, a Delaware statutory trust (“EAM” or “EAM Trust”).  The Company relied on the guidance in FASB's ASC Topics

323

and

810

in its determination

not

to consolidate its investment in EAM and to account for such investment under the equity method of accounting. The Company reports the amount it receives for its non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests as a separate line item below operating income in the Consolidated Condensed  Statements of Income.

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Policy Text Block]

Revenue Recognition:

Depending upon the product, subscription fulfillment for Value Line periodicals and related publications is available in print or digitally, via internet access.  The length of a subscription varies by product and offer received by the subscriber.  Generally, subscriptions are offered as annual subscriptions with the majority of subscriptions paid in advance.  Subscription revenues, net of discounts, are recognized ratably on a straight line basis when the product is served to the client over the life of the subscription.  Accordingly, the amount of subscription fees to be earned by fulfilling subscriptions after the date of the balance sheets are shown as unearned revenue within current and long-term liabilities.

Copyright fees are derived from providing certain Value Line trademarks and the Value Line Proprietary Ranking System results to

third

parties under written agreements for use in selecting securities for

third

party marketed products, including unit investment trusts, annuities and exchange traded funds ("ETFs").  The Company earns asset-based copyright fees upon delivery of the product to the customer as specified in the individual agreements.  Revenue is recognized monthly and received either quarterly or in advance over the term of the agreement and, because it is asset-based, will fluctuate as the market value of the underlying portfolio increases or decreases in value.

Equity Method Investments [Policy Text Block]

Investment in Unconsolidated Entities:

The Company accounts for its investment in its unconsolidated entity, EAM, using the equity method of accounting in accordance with FASB’s ASC

323.

  The equity method is an appropriate means of recognizing increases or decreases measured by GAAP in the economic resources underlying the investments.  Under the equity method, an investor recognizes its share of the earnings or losses of an investee in the periods for which they are reported by the investee in its financial statements rather than in the period in which an investee declares a dividend or distribution. An investor adjusts the carrying amount of an investment for its share of the earnings or losses recognized by the investee.

The Company’s “interests” in EAM, the investment adviser to and the sole member of the distributor of the Value Line Funds, consist of a "non-voting revenues interest" and a "non-voting profits interest" in EAM as defined in the EAM Trust Agreement.  The non-voting revenues interest entitles the Company to receive a range of

41%

to

55%,

based on the amount of EAM’s adjusted gross revenues, excluding EULAV Securities' distribution revenues (“Revenues Interest”).  The non-voting profits interest entitles the Company to receive

50%

of EAM's profits, subject to certain limited adjustments as defined in the EAM Trust Agreement (“Profits Interest”).  The Revenues Interest and at least

90%

of the Profits Interest are to be distributed each quarter to all interest holders of EAM, including Value Line.  Subsequent to the Restructuring Date, the Company's Revenues Interest in EAM excludes participation in the service and distribution fees of EAM's subsidiary EULAV Securities.  The Company reflects its non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM as non-operating income under the equity method of accounting subsequent to the Restructuring Transaction.  Although the Company does

not

have control over the operating and financial policies of EAM, pursuant to the EAM Trust Agreement, the Company has a contractual right to receive its share of EAM's revenues and profits.

New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Recent Accounting Pronouncements:

In

February 2016,

the FASB issued ASU

No.

2016

-

02,

“Leases (Topic

842

)”.  This ASU requires that, for leases longer than

one

year, a lessee recognize in the statements of financial position a right-of-use asset, representing the right to use the underlying asset for the lease term, and a lease liability, representing the liability to make lease payments. It also requires that for finance leases, a lessee recognize interest expense on the lease liability, separately from the amortization of the right-of-use asset in the statements of earnings, while for operating leases, such amounts should be recognized as a combined expense. The Company adopted this ASU in

May 2019

under a modified retrospective approach (see Note

12

).

In

August 2016,

the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update

No.

2016

-

15,

Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (a consensus of the Emerging Issues Task Force) (“ASU

2016

-

15”

), effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after

December 15, 2017,

and interim periods within those fiscal years. The amendments in ASU

2016

-

15

address

eight

specific cash flow issues and apply to all entities that are required to present a statement of cash flows under ASC Topic

230,

Statement of Cash Flows.  The Company has adopted ASU

2016

-

15

in the

first

quarter of fiscal

2019.

The FASB issued ASU

No.

2014

-

09,

“Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic

606

)”, which requires an entity to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which it expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In addition, ASU

No.

2014

-

09

requires disclosures of the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. ASU

No.

2014

-

09

supersedes most existing U.S. GAAP revenue recognition principles, and it permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. ASU

No.

2014

-

09

is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after

December 15, 2017,

including interim periods within those annual periods.  The Company has adopted ASU

No.

2014

-

09

in the

first

quarter of fiscal

2019,

which does

not

have a material impact on the Company's consolidated condensed financial statements and related disclosures.

In

November 2016,

the FASB issued ASU

No.

2016

-

18,

"Statement of Cash Flows (Topic

230

):  Restricted Cash (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force)", effective for annual reporting periods beginning after

December 15, 2017,

including interim periods within those annual periods.  This ASU requires that the reconciliation of the beginning-of-period and end-of-period amounts shown in the statement of cash flows include cash, cash equivalents and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents.     The Company has adopted ASU

No.

2016

-

18

in the

first

quarter of fiscal

2019,

which does

not

have a material impact on the Company's consolidated condensed financial statements and related disclosures.

On

June 21, 2018,

the United States Supreme Court reversed the

1992

ruling in

Quill,

which protected firms delivering items by common carrier into a state where it had

no

physical presence from having to collect sales tax in such state.  The Company has  integrated the effects of the various state laws into its operations and continues to do so.

Fair Value Measurement, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Valuation of Securities:

The Company's securities classified as cash equivalents and available-for-sale consist of shares of money market funds that invest primarily in short-term U.S. Government securities and investments in equities including ETFs and are valued in accordance with the requirements of the Fair Value Measurements Topic of the FASB's ASC

820.

  The securities classified as available-for-sale reflected in the Consolidated Balance Sheets are valued at market and unrealized gains and losses, net of applicable taxes, are reported as a separate component of shareholders' equity. Realized gains and losses on sales of the securities classified as available-for-sale are recorded in earnings as of the trade date and are determined on the identified cost method.

The Company classifies its securities available-for-sale as current assets to properly reflect its liquidity and to recognize the fact that it has liquid assets available-for-sale should the need arise.

Market valuations of securities listed on a securities exchange and ETF shares are based on the closing sales prices on the last business day of each month. The market value of the Company's fixed maturity U.S. Government debt securities is determined utilizing publicly quoted market prices.  Cash equivalents consist of investments in money market funds that invest primarily in U.S. Government securities valued in accordance with rule

2a

-

7

under the

1940

Act.

The Fair Value Measurements Topic of FASB's ASC defines fair value as the price that the Company would receive upon selling an investment in a timely transaction to an independent buyer in the principal or most advantageous market for the investment. The  Fair Value Measurements Topic established a

three

-tier hierarchy to maximize the use of observable market data and minimize the use of unobservable inputs and to establish classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes. Inputs refer broadly to the information that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk. Examples of risks include those inherent in a particular valuation technique used to measure fair value such as the risk inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. Inputs are classified as observable or unobservable. Observable inputs are inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the factors market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on the best information available in the circumstances.

The

three

-tier hierarchy of inputs is summarized in the

three

broad levels listed below.

Level

1

– quoted prices in active markets for identical investments

Level

2

– other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.)

Level

3

– significant unobservable inputs (including the Company’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following summarizes the levels of fair value measurements of the Company’s investments:

	As of January 31, 2020
($ in thousands)	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Cash equivalents	$	2,739	$	-	$	-	$	2,739
Securities available-for-sale		25,845		-		-		25,845
	$	28,584	$	-	$	-	$	28,584

	As of April 30, 2019
($ in thousands)	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Cash equivalents	$	5,617	$	-	$	-	$	5,617
Securities available-for-sale		21,828		-		-		21,828
	$	27,445	$	-	$	-	$	27,445

The Company had

no

other financial instruments such as futures, forwards and swap contracts. For the periods ended

January 31, 2020

and

April 30, 2019,

there were

no

Level

2

nor Level

3

investments. The Company does

not

have any liabilities that are subject to fair value measurement.

Advertising Cost [Policy Text Block]

Advertising expenses:

The Company expenses advertising costs as incurred.

Income Tax, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Income Taxes:

The Company computes its income tax provision in accordance with the Income Tax Topic of the FASB's ASC.  Deferred tax liabilities and assets are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been reflected in the Consolidated Condensed  Financial Statements. Deferred tax liabilities and assets are determined based on the differences between the book values and the tax bases of particular assets and liabilities, using tax rates currently in effect for the years in which the differences are expected to reverse.  The Company adopted the provisions of ASU

2015

-

17,

Income taxes (Topic

740

) during the

first

quarter of fiscal

2018

and now classifies all deferred taxes as long-term liabilities on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.

The Income Tax Topic of the FASB's ASC establishes for all entities, a minimum threshold for financial statement recognition of the benefit of positions taken in filing tax returns (including whether an entity is taxable in a particular jurisdiction), and requires certain expanded tax disclosures.  As of

January 31, 2020,

management has reviewed the tax positions for the years still subject to tax audit under the statute of limitations, evaluated the implications, and determined that there is

no

material impact to the Company's financial statements.

Earnings Per Share, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Earnings per share:

Earnings per share are based on the weighted average number of shares of common stock and common stock equivalents outstanding during each period. Any shares that are reacquired during the period are weighted for the portion of the period that they are outstanding.  The Company does

not

have any potentially dilutive common shares from outstanding stock options, warrants, restricted stock, or restricted stock units.

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Cash and Cash Equivalents:

For purposes of the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Cash Flows, the Company considers all cash held at banks and short term liquid investments with an original maturity of less than

three

months to be cash and cash equivalents. As of

January 31, 2020

and

April 30, 2019,

cash equivalents included

$2,739,000

and

$5,617,000,

respectively, for amounts invested in money market mutual funds that invest in short term U.S. government securities.