FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

6 Months Ended

Mar. 28, 2025

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. A fair value hierarchy has been established based on three levels of inputs, of which the first two are considered observable and the last unobservable.

•Level 1 - Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. These are typically obtained from real-time quotes for transactions in active exchange markets involving identical assets or liabilities.

•Level 2 - Inputs, other than quoted prices included within Level 1, which are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. These are typically obtained from readily-available pricing sources for comparable instruments.

•Level 3 - Unobservable inputs, where there is little or no market activity for the asset or liability. These inputs reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions of the data that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, based on the best information available in the circumstances.

The carrying amounts of accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximated their fair values at March 28, 2025, September 27, 2024 and March 29, 2024 due to the short term maturities of these instruments. See Note 13 for discussion of fair value of cash and cash equivalents. When indicators of impairment are present, the Company may be required to value certain long-lived assets such as property, plant, and equipment, and other intangibles at their fair value.

Valuation Techniques

Rabbi Trust Assets

Rabbi trust assets are classified as trading securities and are comprised of marketable debt and equity securities that are marked to fair value based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets.  The rabbi trust assets are used to fund amounts the Company owes to certain officers and other employees under the Company’s non-qualified deferred compensation plan.  These assets are included in "Other assets" in the accompanying Company's Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, and the mark to market adjustments on the assets are recorded in “Other income, net” in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. The offsetting deferred compensation liability is also reported at fair value as "Deferred compensation liability" in the Company's accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. Changes in the liability are recorded in "Administrative management, finance and information systems" expense in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Marketable Securities

Marketable securities are classified as available-for-sale, with fair values determined using significant other observable inputs, which include quoted prices in markets that are not active, quoted prices of similar securities, recently executed transactions, broker quotations, and other inputs that are observable.

The following table summarizes the Company’s financial assets measured at fair value as of March 28, 2025:

	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets:
Rabbi trust assets	$	27,396	$	—	$	—	$	27,396
Marketable securities	—		4,315		—		4,315
Total	$	27,396	$	4,315	$	—	$	31,711

The following table summarizes the Company’s financial assets measured at fair value as of September 27, 2024:

	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets:
Rabbi trust assets	$	29,059	$	—	$	—	$	29,059
Marketable securities	—		16,541		—		16,541
Total	$	29,059	$	16,541	$	—	$	45,600

The following table summarizes the Company’s financial assets measured at fair value as of March 29, 2024:

	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets:
Rabbi trust assets	$	27,139	$	—	$	—	$	27,139
Marketable securities	—		26,071		—		26,071
Total	$	27,139	$	26,071	$	—	$	53,210

The effect of changes in the fair value of financial instruments on the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three and six month periods ended March 28, 2025 and March 29, 2024 was:

		Three Months Ended				Six months ended
	Location of income recognized in Statement of Operations	March 28, 2025		March 29, 2024		March 28, 2025		March 29, 2024
Rabbi trust assets	Other (expense) income, net	$	(1,277)	$	2,100	$	(2,765)	$	4,772

There were no assets or liabilities measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis in periods subsequent to their initial recognition for either of the six month periods ended March 28, 2025 or March 29, 2024.