Fair Value Measurements

6 Months Ended

Mar. 28, 2020

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. When determining the fair value measurements for assets and liabilities required to be recorded at fair value, we consider the principal or most advantageous market in which we would transact and consider assumptions that market participants would use when pricing the asset or liability, such as inherent risk, transfer restrictions, and risk of nonperformance. GAAP prescribes a fair value hierarchy that requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. A financial instrument’s categorization within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:


•	Level 1: quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

•

Level 2: inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities; or


•	Level 3: unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

A financial instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

Money market funds, time deposits and corporate notes/bonds are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy because they are valued based on quoted market prices in active markets.

Certificates of deposit, commercial paper and certain U.S. government agency securities are classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. These instruments are valued based on quoted prices in markets that are not active or based on other observable inputs consisting of market yields, reported trades and broker/dealer quotes.

The principal market in which we execute our foreign currency contracts is the institutional market in an over-the-counter environment with a relatively high level of price transparency. The market participants usually are large financial institutions. Our foreign currency contracts’ valuation inputs are based on quoted prices and quoted pricing intervals from public data sources and do not involve management judgment. These contracts are typically classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.

Our significant financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of March 28, 2020 and September 30, 2019 were as follows:



(in thousands)	March 28, 2020
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Financial assets:
Cash equivalents	$	616,556	$	—	$	—	$	616,556
Marketable securities:
Commercial paper	—		1,482		—		1,482
Corporate notes/bonds	55,459		—		—		55,459
Forward contracts	—		2,708		—		2,708
	$	672,015	$	4,190	$	—	$	676,205
Financial liabilities:
Forward contracts	—		4,074		—		4,074
	$	—	$	4,074	$	—	$	4,074



(in thousands)	September 30, 2019
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Financial assets:
Cash equivalents	$	108,020	$	—	$	—	$	108,020
Marketable securities:
Commercial paper	—		999		—		999
Corporate notes/bonds	56,436		—		—		56,436
Forward contracts	—		3,064		—		3,064
	$	164,456	$	4,063	$	—	$	168,519
Financial liabilities:
Forward contracts	—		2,771		—		2,771
	$	—	$	2,771	$	—	$	2,771

Non-Marketable Equity Investments

We account for non-marketable equity investments at cost, less any impairment, plus or minus adjustments resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for identical or similar investments of the same issuer. We monitor non-marketable equity investments for events that could indicate that the investments are impaired, such as deterioration in the investee's financial condition and business forecasts, and lower valuations in recent or proposed financings. Changes in fair value of non-marketable equity investments are recorded in other income (expense), net on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The carrying value of our non-marketable equity investments is recorded in other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and totaled $9.4 million as of both March 28, 2020 and September 30, 2019.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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