Marketable Investment Securities, Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, and Other Investment Securities

3 Months Ended

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Dec. 31, 2020

Marketable Investment Securities, Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, and Other Investment Securities

Marketable Investment Securities, Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, and Other Investment Securities

4. Marketable Investment Securities, Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, and Other Investment Securities

Our marketable investment securities, restricted cash and cash equivalents, and other investment securities consisted of the following:


	As of
	March 31,		December 31,
	2021		2020

	(In thousands)
Marketable investment securities:
Current marketable investment securities	$	48,995	$	132,593
Restricted marketable investment securities ⁽¹⁾		—		—
Total marketable investment securities		48,995		132,593

Restricted cash and cash equivalents ⁽¹⁾		58,255		58,323

Other investment securities:
Other investment securities		98,050		97,306
Total other investment securities		98,050		97,306

Total marketable investment securities, restricted cash and cash equivalents, and other investment securities	$	205,300	$	288,222

(1)	Restricted marketable investment securities and restricted cash and cash equivalents are included in “Restricted cash, cash equivalents and marketable investment securities” on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Marketable Investment Securities

Our marketable investment securities portfolio may consist of debt and equity instruments. All equity securities are carried at fair value, with changes in fair value recognized in “Other, net” within “Other Income (Expense)” on our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss). All debt securities are classified as available-for-sale and are recorded at fair value. We report the temporary unrealized gains and losses related to changes in market conditions of marketable debt securities as a separate component of “Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)” within “Total stockholder’s equity (deficit),” net of related deferred income tax on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The corresponding changes in the fair value of marketable debt securities, which are determined to be company specific credit losses are recorded in “Other, net” within “Other Income (Expense)” on our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss). See Note 2 for further information.

Current Marketable Investment Securities

Our current marketable investment securities portfolio can include investments in various debt instruments including, among others, commercial paper, corporate securities and United States treasury and/or agency securities.

Commercial paper consists mainly of unsecured short-term promissory notes, issued primarily by corporations, with maturities ranging up to 365 days. Corporate securities consist of debt instruments issued by corporations with various maturities normally less than 18 months. U.S. Treasury and agency securities consist of debt instruments issued by the federal government and other government agencies.

Restricted Cash, Cash Equivalents and Marketable Investment Securities

As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, our restricted marketable investment securities, together with our restricted cash and cash equivalents, included amounts required as collateral for our letters of credit and trusts.

Other Investment Securities

We have strategic investments in certain debt and/or equity securities that are included in noncurrent “Other investment securities” on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. Our debt securities are classified as available-for-sale and our equity securities are accounted for using the equity method of accounting or recorded at fair value. Certain of our equity method investments are detailed below.

NagraStar L.L.C. We own a 50% interest in NagraStar L.L.C. (“NagraStar”), a joint venture that is our primary provider of encryption and related security systems intended to assure that only authorized customers have access to our programming.

Invidi Technologies Corporation. In November 2016, we, DIRECTV, LLC, a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of AT&T Inc., and Cavendish Square Holding B.V., an affiliate of WPP plc, entered into a series of agreements to acquire Invidi Technologies Corporation (“Invidi”), an entity that provides proprietary software for the addressable advertising market. The transaction closed in January 2017.

Our ability to realize value from our strategic investments in securities that are not publicly traded depends on the success of the issuers’ businesses and their ability to obtain sufficient capital, on acceptable terms or at all, and to execute their business plans. Because private markets are not as liquid as public markets, there is also increased risk that we will not be able to sell these investments, or that when we desire to sell them we will not be able to obtain fair value for them.

Fair Value Measurements

Our investments measured at fair value on a recurring basis were as follows:


	As of
	March 31, 2021								December 31, 2020
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3

	(In thousands)
Cash equivalents (including restricted)	$	1,653,660	$	60,153	$	1,593,507	$	—	$	1,278,971	$	172,025	$	1,106,946	$	—

Debt securities (including restricted):
U.S. Treasury and agency securities	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	22,476	$	22,476	$	—	$	—
Commercial paper		47,590		—		47,590		—		101,959		—		101,959		—
Corporate securities		877		—		877		—		8,068		—		8,068		—
Other		528		—		528		—		90		—		90		—
Total	$	48,995	$	—	$	48,995	$	—	$	132,593	$	22,476	$	110,117	$	—

As of March 31, 2021, restricted and non-restricted marketable investment securities included debt securities of $49 million with contractual maturities within one year. Actual maturities may differ from contractual maturities as a result of our ability to sell these securities prior to maturity.

Gains and Losses on Sales and Changes in Carrying Amounts of Investments

“Other, net” within “Other Income (Expense)” included on our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) is as follows:


	For the Three Months Ended
	March 31,
Other, net:	2021		2020

	(In thousands)
Costs related to early redemption of debt	$	(2,600)	$	—
Equity in earnings (losses) of affiliates		903		278
Other		189		667
Total	$	(1,508)	$	945

4.Marketable Investment Securities, Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, and Other Investment Securities

Our marketable investment securities, restricted cash and cash equivalents, and other investment securities consisted of the following:


	As of December 31,
	2020		2019

	(In thousands)
Marketable investment securities:
Current marketable investment securities	$	132,593	$	—
Restricted marketable investment securities (1)		—		390
Total marketable investment securities		132,593		390

Restricted cash and cash equivalents (1)		58,323		60,677

Other investment securities:
Other investment securities		97,306		106,874
Total other investment securities		97,306		106,874

Total marketable investment securities, restricted cash and cash equivalents, and other investment securities	$	288,222	$	167,941

(1)	Restricted marketable investment securities and restricted cash and cash equivalents are included in “Restricted cash, cash equivalents and marketable investment securities” on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Marketable Investment Securities

Our marketable investment securities portfolio may consist of debt and equity instruments. All equity securities are carried at fair value, with changes in fair value recognized in “Other, net” within “Other Income (Expense)” on our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss). All debt securities are classified as available-for-sale and are recorded at fair value. We report the temporary unrealized gains and losses related to changes in market conditions of marketable debt securities as a separate component of “Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)” within “Total stockholder’s equity (deficit),” net of related deferred income tax on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. The corresponding changes in the fair value of marketable debt securities, which are determined to be company specific credit losses are recorded in “Other, net” within “Other Income (Expense)” on our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss). See Note 2 for further information.

Current Marketable Investment Securities

Commercial paper consists mainly of unsecured short-term, promissory notes issued primarily by corporations with maturities ranging up to 365 days. Corporate securities consist of debt instruments issued by corporations with various maturities normally less than 18 months. U.S. Treasury and agency securities consist of debt instruments issued by the federal government and other government agencies.

Restricted Cash, Cash Equivalents and Marketable Investment Securities

As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, our restricted marketable investment securities, together with our restricted cash and cash equivalents, included amounts required as collateral for our letters of credit and trusts.

Other Investment Securities

We have strategic investments in certain debt and/or equity securities that are included in noncurrent “Other investment securities” on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Our debt securities are classified as available-for-sale and our equity securities are accounted for using the equity method of accounting or recorded at fair value. Certain of our equity method investments are detailed below.

Our ability to realize value from our strategic investments in securities that are not publicly traded depends on the success of the issuers’ businesses and their ability to obtain sufficient capital, on acceptable terms or at all, and to execute their business plans. Because private markets are not as liquid as public markets, there is also increased risk that we will not be able to sell these investments, or that when we desire to sell them, we will not be able to obtain fair value for them.

Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Marketable Investment Securities

As of December 31, 2020, restricted and non-restricted marketable investment securities included debt securities of $133 million with contractual maturities within one year. Actual maturities may differ from contractual maturities as a result of our ability to sell these securities prior to maturity.

Fair Value Measurements

Our investments measured at fair value on a recurring basis were as follows:


	As of December 31,
	2020								2019
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3

	(In thousands)
Cash equivalents (including restricted)	$	1,278,971	$	172,025	$	1,106,946	$	—	$	60,677	$	60,677	$	—	$	—
Debt securities (including restricted):
U.S. Treasury and agency securities	$	22,476	$	22,476	$	—	$	—	$	390	$	390	$	—	$	—
Commercial paper		101,959		—		101,959		—		—		—		—		—
Corporate securities		8,068		—		8,068		—		—		—		—		—
Other		90		—		90		—		—		—		—		—
Total	$	132,593	$	22,476	$	110,117	$	—	$	390	$	390	$	—	$	—

Gains and Losses on Sales and Changes in Carrying Amounts of Investments

“Other, net” within “Other Income (Expense)” included on our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) is as follows:



	For the Years Ended December 31,
Other, net:	2020		2019		2018

	(In thousands)
Marketable investment securities - realized and unrealized gains (losses)	$	—	$	3,119	$	5,313
Costs related to early redemption of debt		—		—		(3,261)
Gain (loss) on sale of subsidiary		—		—		7,004
Equity in earnings (losses) of affiliates		653		3,514		(2,110)
Other		1,033		976		2,048
Total	$	1,686	$	7,609	$	8,994