Basis of Presentation (Policies)	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Principles of Consolidation	The interim consolidated financial statements of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. ("Merit," "we" or "us") for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 are not audited. Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with the requirements for unaudited interim periods and, consequently, do not include all disclosures required to be made in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. In the opinion of our management, the accompanying consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring accruals, necessary for a fair presentation of our financial position as of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, and our results of operations and cash flows for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2018 and 2017. The results of operations for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results for a full-year period. These interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K (the "2017 Form 10-K") for the year ended December 31, 2017, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 1, 2018.
Revenue from Contracts with Customers	Revenue from Contracts with Customers. We sell our medical products through a direct sales force in the U.S. and through OEM relationships, custom procedure tray manufacturers and a combination of direct sales force and independent distributors in international markets. Revenue is recognized when a customer obtains control of promised goods based on the consideration we expect to receive in exchange for these goods. This core principle is achieved through the following steps: Identify the contract with the customer. A contract with a customer exists when (i) we enter into an enforceable contract with a customer that defines each party’s rights regarding the goods to be transferred and identifies the payment terms related to these goods, (ii) the contract has commercial substance and, (iii) we determine that collection of substantially all consideration for services that are transferred is probable based on the customer’s intent and ability to pay the promised consideration. We do not have significant costs to obtain contracts with customers. For commissions on product sales, we have elected the practical expedient to expense the costs as incurred if the amortization period would have been one year or less. Identify the performance obligations in the contract. Generally, our contracts with customers do not include multiple performance obligations to be completed over a period of time. Our performance obligations generally relate to delivering single-use medical products to a customer, subject to the shipping terms of the contract. Limited warranties are provided, under which we typically accept returns and provide either replacement parts or refunds. We do not have significant returns. We do not typically offer extended warranty or service plans. Determine the transaction price. Payment by the customer is due under customary fixed payment terms, and we evaluate if collectability is reasonably assured. None of our contracts as of September 30, 2018 contained a significant financing component. Revenue is recorded at the net sales price, which includes estimates of variable consideration such as product returns, rebates, discounts, and other adjustments. The estimates of variable consideration are based on historical payment experience, historical and projected sales data, and current contract terms. Variable consideration is included in revenue only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal of the revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved. Taxes collected from customers relating to product sales and remitted to governmental authorities are excluded from revenues. Allocate the transaction price to performance obligations in the contract. We typically do not have multiple performance obligations in our contracts with customers. As such, we recognize revenue upon transfer of the product to the customer's control at contractually stated pricing. Recognize revenue when or as we satisfy a performance obligation. We satisfy performance obligations at a point in time upon either shipment or delivery of goods, in accordance with the terms of each contract with the customer. We do not have significant service revenue.
Recently Issued Financial Accounting Standards	Recently Issued Financial Accounting Standards Recently Adopted In October 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the "FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other than Inventory, which requires the recognition of the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset, other than inventory, when the transfer occurs. ASU 2016-16 became effective for us as of January 1, 2018. The adoption of ASU 2016-16 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, which addresses eight specific cash flow issues with the objective of reducing the existing diversity in practice in how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. We adopted ASU 2016-15 on January 1, 2018. The adoption of ASU 2016-15 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments - Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, which amends the guidance regarding the classification and measurement of financial instruments. Changes to the current guidance primarily affect the accounting for equity investments, financial liabilities under the fair value option, and the presentation and disclosure requirements for financial instruments. In addition, ASU 2016-01 clarifies guidance related to the valuation allowance assessment when recognizing deferred tax assets resulting from unrealized losses on available-for-sale debt securities. We adopted ASU 2016-01 on January 1, 2018. The adoption of ASU 2016-01 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which provides a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers. We adopted this ASU (and all subsequent ASUs that modified Topic 606) effective January 1, 2018 on a modified retrospective basis. Adoption of this standard did not result in significant changes to our accounting policies, business processes, systems or controls, or have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. As such, prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported under accounting standards then in effect, and we did not record a cumulative adjustment to the opening equity balance of retained earnings as of January 1, 2018. However, additional disclosures have been added in accordance with the requirements of Topic 606 and are reflected in Note 6. Not Yet Adopted In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other-Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40). The new guidance reduces complexity for the accounting for costs of implementing a cloud computing service arrangement and aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software (and hosting arrangements that include an internal use software license). ASU 2018-15 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. Implementation may be applied either retrospectively or prospectively to all implementation costs incurred after the date of adoption. We are currently evaluating the anticipated impact of adopting ASU 2018-15 on our consolidated financial statements. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820)—Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement, which modifies disclosure requirements related to fair value measurements. The amendments in this ASU are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2019. Implementation on a prospective or retrospective basis varies by specific disclosure requirement. The standard allows for early adoption of any removed or modified disclosures upon issuance of this ASU while delaying adoption of the additional disclosures until their effective date. We are currently evaluating the anticipated impact of adopting ASU 2018-13 on our consolidated financial statements. In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which simplifies the accounting for nonemployee share-based payment transactions by expanding the scope of ASC Topic 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation, to include share-based payment transactions for acquiring goods and services from nonemployees. Under the new standard, most of the guidance on stock compensation payments to nonemployees would be aligned with the requirements for share-based payments granted to employees. This standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. While we continue to assess the potential impact of this standard, we do not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-02, Income Statement-Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which allows a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from U.S. federal tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was enacted in December 2017 (the "2017 Tax Act"). ASU 2018-02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. While we continue to assess our adoption policy for this standard, we do not expect adoption to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities, which expands and refines hedge accounting for both financial and non-financial risk components, aligns the recognition and presentation of the effects of hedging instruments and hedge items in the financial statements, and includes certain targeted improvements to ease the application of current guidance related to the assessment of hedge effectiveness. ASU 2017-12 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the anticipated impact of adopting ASU 2017-12 on our consolidated financial statements. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which eliminates the current tests for lease classification under U.S. GAAP and requires lessees to recognize the right-of-use assets and related lease liabilities on the balance sheet for all leases greater than one year in duration. ASU 2016-02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption of ASU 2016-02 is permitted. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11 to provide a transition practical expedient by allowing entities to initially apply the new leases standard at the adoption date, recognize a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings in the period of adoption, and not restate prior periods. We expect to adopt this as well as certain other practical expedients available to us under the new guidance. We have implemented processes and information technology tools to assist in our ongoing lease data collection and analysis. We are currently finalizing our lease portfolio analysis to determine the impact to our consolidated financial statements, and currently expect that most of our operating lease commitments will be recognized as lease liabilities and right-of-use assets upon our adoption of ASU 2016-02. We are updating our accounting policies and internal controls that will be impacted by the new guidance to ensure readiness for adoption in the first quarter of 2019. We do not believe any other issued and not yet effective accounting standards will be relevant to our consolidated financial statements.
Derivatives	Derivatives General. Our earnings and cash flows are subject to fluctuations due to changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, and we seek to mitigate a portion of these risks by entering into derivative contracts. The derivatives we use are interest rate swaps and foreign currency forward contracts. We recognize derivatives as either assets or liabilities at fair value in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, regardless of whether or not hedge accounting is applied. We report cash flows arising from our hedging instruments consistent with the classification of cash flows from the underlying hedged items. Accordingly, cash flows associated with our derivative programs are classified as operating activities in the accompanying consolidated statements of cash flows. We formally document, designate and assess the effectiveness of transactions that receive hedge accounting initially and on an ongoing basis. Changes in the fair value of derivatives that qualify for hedge accounting treatment are recorded, net of applicable taxes, in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), a component of stockholders’ equity in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. For the ineffective portions of qualifying hedges, the change in fair value is recorded through earnings in the period of change. Changes in the fair value of derivatives not designated as hedging instruments are recorded in earnings throughout the term of the derivative. Interest Rate Risk. A portion of our debt bears interest at variable interest rates and, therefore, we are subject to variability in the cash paid for interest expense. In order to mitigate a portion of this risk, we use a hedging strategy to reduce the variability of cash flows in the interest payments associated with a portion of the variable-rate debt outstanding under our Second Amended Credit Agreement that is solely due to changes in the benchmark interest rate. Derivatives Designated as Cash Flow Hedges On August 5, 2016, we entered into a pay-fixed, receive-variable interest rate swap with a current notional amount of $175.0 million with Wells Fargo to fix the one-month LIBOR rate at 1.12%. The variable portion of the interest rate swap is tied to the one-month LIBOR rate (the benchmark interest rate). On a monthly basis, the interest rates under both the interest rate swap and the underlying debt reset, the swap is settled with the counterparty, and interest is paid. The interest rate swap is scheduled to expire on July 6, 2021. At September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, our interest rate swap qualified as a cash flow hedge. The fair value of our interest rate swap at September 30, 2018 was an asset of approximately $8.3 million, which was partially offset by approximately $2.1 million in deferred taxes. The fair value of our interest rate swap at December 31, 2017 was an asset of approximately $5.7 million, which was offset by approximately $1.5 million in deferred taxes. Foreign Currency Risk. We operate on a global basis and are exposed to the risk that our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be adversely affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates. To reduce the potential effects of foreign currency exchange rate movements on net earnings, we enter into derivative financial instruments in the form of foreign currency exchange forward contracts with major financial institutions. Our policy is to enter into foreign currency derivative contracts with maturities of up to two years. We are primarily exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk with respect to transactions and balances denominated in Euros, British Pounds, Chinese Renminbi, Mexican Pesos, Brazilian Reals, Australian Dollars, Hong Kong Dollars, Swiss Francs, Swedish Krona, Canadian Dollars, Danish Krone, Japanese Yen, Korean Won, and Singapore Dollars. We do not use derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. We are not subject to any credit risk contingent features related to our derivative contracts, and counterparty risk is managed by allocating derivative contracts among several major financial institutions. Derivatives Designated as Cash Flow Hedges For derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as cash flow hedges, the effective portion of the gain or loss on the derivative instrument is reported as a component of other comprehensive income (loss) and reclassified into earnings in the same line item associated with the forecasted transaction and in the same period or periods during which the hedged transaction affects earnings. The remaining gain or loss on the derivative instrument in excess of the cumulative change in the present value of future cash flows of the hedged item, if any (i.e., the ineffective portion) or hedge components excluded from the assessment of effectiveness, are recognized in earnings during the current period. We enter into forward contracts on various foreign currencies to manage the risk associated with forecasted exchange rates which impact revenues, cost of sales, and operating expenses in various international markets. The objective of the hedges is to reduce the variability of cash flows associated with the forecasted purchase or sale of the associated foreign currencies.

Basis of Presentation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

The interim consolidated financial statements of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. ("Merit," "we" or "us") for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 are not audited. Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with the requirements for unaudited interim periods and, consequently, do not include all disclosures required to be made in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. In the opinion of our management, the accompanying consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring accruals, necessary for a fair presentation of our financial position as of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, and our results of operations and cash flows for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2018 and 2017. The results of operations for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results for a full-year period. These interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K (the "2017 Form 10-K") for the year ended December 31, 2017, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 1, 2018.

Revenue from Contracts with Customers

Revenue from Contracts with Customers.

We sell our medical products through a direct sales force in the U.S. and through OEM relationships, custom procedure tray manufacturers and a combination of direct sales force and independent distributors in international markets. Revenue is recognized when a customer obtains control of promised goods based on the consideration we expect to receive in exchange for these goods. This core principle is achieved through the following steps:

Identify the contract with the customer. A contract with a customer exists when (i) we enter into an enforceable contract with a customer that defines each party’s rights regarding the goods to be transferred and identifies the payment terms related to these goods, (ii) the contract has commercial substance and, (iii) we determine that collection of substantially all consideration for services that are transferred is probable based on the customer’s intent and ability to pay the promised consideration. We do not have significant costs to obtain contracts with customers. For commissions on product sales, we have elected the practical expedient to expense the costs as incurred if the amortization period would have been one year or less.

Identify the performance obligations in the contract. Generally, our contracts with customers do not include multiple performance obligations to be completed over a period of time. Our performance obligations generally relate to delivering single-use medical products to a customer, subject to the shipping terms of the contract. Limited warranties are provided, under which we typically accept returns and provide either replacement parts or refunds. We do not have significant returns. We do not typically offer extended warranty or service plans.

Determine the transaction price. Payment by the customer is due under customary fixed payment terms, and we evaluate if collectability is reasonably assured. None of our contracts as of September 30, 2018 contained a significant financing component. Revenue is recorded at the net sales price, which includes estimates of variable consideration such as product returns, rebates, discounts, and other adjustments. The estimates of variable consideration are based on historical payment experience, historical and projected sales data, and current contract terms. Variable consideration is included in revenue only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal of the revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved. Taxes collected from customers relating to product sales and remitted to governmental authorities are excluded from revenues.

Allocate the transaction price to performance obligations in the contract. We typically do not have multiple performance obligations in our contracts with customers. As such, we recognize revenue upon transfer of the product to the customer's control at contractually stated pricing.

Recognize revenue when or as we satisfy a performance obligation. We satisfy performance obligations at a point in time upon either shipment or delivery of goods, in accordance with the terms of each contract with the customer. We do not have significant service revenue.

Recently Issued Financial Accounting Standards

Recently Adopted

In October 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the "FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other than Inventory, which requires the recognition of the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset, other than inventory, when the transfer occurs. ASU 2016-16 became effective for us as of January 1, 2018. The adoption of ASU 2016-16 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, which addresses eight specific cash flow issues with the objective of reducing the existing diversity in practice in how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. We adopted ASU 2016-15 on January 1, 2018. The adoption of ASU 2016-15 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments - Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, which amends the guidance regarding the classification and measurement of financial instruments. Changes to the current guidance primarily affect the accounting for equity investments, financial liabilities under the fair value option, and the presentation and disclosure requirements for financial instruments. In addition, ASU 2016-01 clarifies guidance related to the valuation allowance assessment when recognizing deferred tax assets resulting from unrealized losses on available-for-sale debt securities. We adopted ASU 2016-01 on January 1, 2018. The adoption of ASU 2016-01 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which provides a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers. We adopted this ASU (and all subsequent ASUs that modified Topic 606) effective January 1, 2018 on a modified retrospective basis. Adoption of this standard did not result in significant changes to our accounting policies, business processes, systems or controls, or have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. As such, prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported under accounting standards then in effect, and we did not record a cumulative adjustment to the opening equity balance of retained earnings as of January 1, 2018. However, additional disclosures have been added in accordance with the requirements of Topic 606 and are reflected in Note 6.

Not Yet Adopted

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other-Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40). The new guidance reduces complexity for the accounting for costs of implementing a cloud computing service arrangement and aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software (and hosting arrangements that include an internal use software license). ASU 2018-15 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. Implementation may be applied either retrospectively or prospectively to all implementation costs incurred after the date of adoption. We are currently evaluating the anticipated impact of adopting ASU 2018-15 on our consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820)—Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement, which modifies disclosure requirements related to fair value measurements. The amendments in this ASU are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2019. Implementation on a prospective or retrospective basis varies by specific disclosure requirement. The standard allows for early adoption of any removed or modified disclosures upon issuance of this ASU while delaying adoption of the additional disclosures until their effective date. We are currently evaluating the anticipated impact of adopting ASU 2018-13 on our consolidated financial statements.

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which simplifies the accounting for nonemployee share-based payment transactions by expanding the scope of ASC Topic 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation, to include share-based payment transactions for acquiring goods and services from nonemployees. Under the new standard, most of the guidance on stock compensation payments to nonemployees would be aligned with the requirements for share-based payments granted to employees. This standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. While we continue to assess the potential impact of this standard, we do not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-02, Income Statement-Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which allows a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from U.S. federal tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was enacted in December 2017 (the "2017 Tax Act"). ASU 2018-02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. While we continue to assess our adoption policy for this standard, we do not expect adoption to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities, which expands and refines hedge accounting for both financial and non-financial risk components, aligns the recognition and presentation of the effects of hedging instruments and hedge items in the financial statements, and includes certain targeted improvements to ease the application of current guidance related to the assessment of hedge effectiveness. ASU 2017-12 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the anticipated impact of adopting ASU 2017-12 on our consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which eliminates the current tests for lease classification under U.S. GAAP and requires lessees to recognize the right-of-use assets and related lease liabilities on the balance sheet for all leases greater than one year in duration. ASU 2016-02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption of ASU 2016-02 is permitted. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11 to provide a transition practical expedient by allowing entities to initially apply the new leases standard at the adoption date, recognize a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings in the period of adoption, and not restate prior periods. We expect to adopt this as well as certain other practical expedients available to us under the new guidance. We have implemented processes and information technology tools to assist in our ongoing lease data collection and analysis. We are currently finalizing our lease portfolio analysis to determine the impact to our consolidated financial statements, and currently expect that most of our operating lease commitments will be recognized as lease liabilities and right-of-use assets upon our adoption of ASU 2016-02. We are updating our accounting policies and internal controls that will be impacted by the new guidance to ensure readiness for adoption in the first quarter of 2019.

We do not believe any other issued and not yet effective accounting standards will be relevant to our consolidated financial statements.

Derivatives

General. Our earnings and cash flows are subject to fluctuations due to changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, and we seek to mitigate a portion of these risks by entering into derivative contracts. The derivatives we use are interest rate swaps and foreign currency forward contracts. We recognize derivatives as either assets or liabilities at fair value in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, regardless of whether or not hedge accounting is applied. We report cash flows arising from our hedging instruments consistent with the classification of cash flows from the underlying hedged items. Accordingly, cash flows associated with our derivative programs are classified as operating activities in the accompanying consolidated statements of cash flows.

We formally document, designate and assess the effectiveness of transactions that receive hedge accounting initially and on an ongoing basis. Changes in the fair value of derivatives that qualify for hedge accounting treatment are recorded, net of applicable taxes, in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), a component of stockholders’ equity in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. For the ineffective portions of qualifying hedges, the change in fair value is recorded through earnings in the period of change. Changes in the fair value of derivatives not designated as hedging instruments are recorded in earnings throughout the term of the derivative.

Interest Rate Risk. A portion of our debt bears interest at variable interest rates and, therefore, we are subject to variability in the cash paid for interest expense. In order to mitigate a portion of this risk, we use a hedging strategy to reduce the variability of cash flows in the interest payments associated with a portion of the variable-rate debt outstanding under our Second Amended Credit Agreement that is solely due to changes in the benchmark interest rate.

Derivatives Designated as Cash Flow Hedges

On August 5, 2016, we entered into a pay-fixed, receive-variable interest rate swap with a current notional amount of $175.0 million with Wells Fargo to fix the one-month LIBOR rate at 1.12%. The variable portion of the interest rate swap is tied to the one-month LIBOR rate (the benchmark interest rate). On a monthly basis, the interest rates under both the interest rate swap and the underlying debt reset, the swap is settled with the counterparty, and interest is paid. The interest rate swap is scheduled to expire on July 6, 2021.

At September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, our interest rate swap qualified as a cash flow hedge. The fair value of our interest rate swap at September 30, 2018 was an asset of approximately $8.3 million, which was partially offset by approximately $2.1 million in deferred taxes. The fair value of our interest rate swap at December 31, 2017 was an asset of approximately $5.7 million, which was offset by approximately $1.5 million in deferred taxes.

Foreign Currency Risk. We operate on a global basis and are exposed to the risk that our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be adversely affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates. To reduce the potential effects of foreign currency exchange rate movements on net earnings, we enter into derivative financial instruments in the form of foreign currency exchange forward contracts with major financial institutions. Our policy is to enter into foreign currency derivative contracts with maturities of up to two years. We are primarily exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk with respect to transactions and balances denominated in Euros, British Pounds, Chinese Renminbi, Mexican Pesos, Brazilian Reals, Australian Dollars, Hong Kong Dollars, Swiss Francs, Swedish Krona, Canadian Dollars, Danish Krone, Japanese Yen, Korean Won, and Singapore Dollars. We do not use derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. We are not subject to any credit risk contingent features related to our derivative contracts, and counterparty risk is managed by allocating derivative contracts among several major financial institutions.

Derivatives Designated as Cash Flow Hedges

For derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as cash flow hedges, the effective portion of the gain or loss on the derivative instrument is reported as a component of other comprehensive income (loss) and reclassified into earnings in the same line item associated with the forecasted transaction and in the same period or periods during which the hedged transaction affects earnings. The remaining gain or loss on the derivative instrument in excess of the cumulative change in the present value of future cash flows of the hedged item, if any (i.e., the ineffective portion) or hedge components excluded from the assessment of effectiveness, are recognized in earnings during the current period. We enter into forward contracts on various foreign currencies to manage the risk associated with forecasted exchange rates which impact revenues, cost of sales, and operating

expenses in various international markets. The objective of the hedges is to reduce the variability of cash flows associated with the forecasted purchase or sale of the associated foreign currencies.