NOTE C – FAIR VALUE MEASURES

The Company measures at fair value certain of its financial and non-financial assets and liabilities by using a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date, essentially an exit price, based on the highest and best use of the asset or liability. The levels of the fair value hierarchy are:





As of the dates indicated, the following financial assets and liabilities were measured at fair value on a recurring basis using the type of inputs shown:

       

There were no transfers of financial assets or liabilities between levels of the fair value hierarchy for the periods indicated.

The majority of the Company’s non-financial assets, which include goodwill, intangible assets, and property and equipment, are not required to be carried at fair value on a recurring basis. However, if certain triggering events occur (or tested at least annually for goodwill and indefinite-lived intangibles) such that a non-financial asset is required to be evaluated for impairment, an impairment charge is recorded to reduce the carrying value to the fair value, if the carrying value exceeds the fair value.  At December 30, 2017 and September 29, 2018, there were no non-financial assets measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis.



The Company’s financial instruments include cash equivalents, securities held-to-maturity, accounts receivable, restricted cash, notes receivable, and accounts payable. The recorded values of cash equivalents, accounts receivable, restricted cash, and accounts payable approximate their fair values, based on their short-term nature. Historically, the carrying value of the notes receivable approximated fair value because the variable interest rates in the notes reflected current market rates. During the year ended December 30, 2017, an impairment was recorded on a note receivable (discussed in Note G) based on the estimated recoverable amount using Level 3 inputs, which approximates fair value.

NOTE C – FAIR VALUE MEASURES - CONTINUED

Securities held-to-maturity consist of corporate bonds, commercial paper, and U.S. treasuries. The fair value of corporate bonds, commercial paper, and U.S. treasuries are priced using quoted market prices for similar instruments or non-binding market prices that are corroborated by observable market data, which is considered to be a Level 2 input. The carrying values of these corporate bonds, commercial paper, and U.S. treasuries approximate their fair values due to their short-term maturities.