Fair Value Measurements

3 Months Ended

May 02, 2020

Fair value is defined as 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 or “exit price.” The inputs used to measure fair value are generally classified into the following hierarchy:


Level 1:						Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities

Level 2:						Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, or unadjusted quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability

Level 3:						Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability

The following table sets forth TJX’s financial assets and liabilities that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis:


In thousands	May 2, 2020		February 1, 2020		May 4, 2019
Level 1
Assets:
Executive Savings Plan investments	$	296,031	$	305,777	$	278,540
Level 2
Assets:

Foreign currency exchange contracts	11,777		7,240		11,811

Liabilities:
Foreign currency exchange contracts	$	8,679	$	10,278	$	4,974
Diesel fuel contracts	30,167		9,927		299

Investments designed to meet obligations under the Executive Savings Plan are invested in registered investment companies traded in active markets and are recorded at unadjusted quoted prices.

Foreign currency exchange contracts and diesel fuel contracts are valued using broker quotations, which include observable market information. TJX’s investments are primarily high-grade commercial paper, institutional money market funds and time deposits with major banks. TJX does not make adjustments to quotes or prices obtained from brokers or pricing services but does assess the credit risk of counterparties and will adjust final valuations when appropriate. Where independent pricing services provide fair values, TJX obtains an understanding of the methods used in pricing. As such, these instruments are classified within Level 2.

The fair value of TJX’s general corporate debt was estimated by obtaining market quotes given the trading levels of other bonds of the same general issuer type and market perceived credit quality. These inputs are considered to be Level 2. The fair value of long-term debt as of May 2, 2020 was $7.8 billion compared to a carrying value of $7.2 billion. For additional information on the new debt issuances, see Note J—Long-Term Debt and Credit Lines. The fair value of long-term debt as of February 1, 2020 was $2.3 billion compared to a carrying value of $2.2 billion. The fair value of long-term debt as of May 4, 2019 approximated the carrying value of $2.2 billion. These estimates do not necessarily reflect provisions or restrictions in the various debt agreements that might affect TJX’s ability to settle these obligations.

TJX’s cash equivalents are stated at cost, which approximates fair value due to the short maturities of these instruments.

- 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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