Note 2 - Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2023

Notes to Financial Statements

Fair Value Disclosures [Text Block]

(2) Fair Value Measurements

The Company applies Accounting Standards Codification 820 — Fair Value Measurement for all financial assets and liabilities, which establishes a framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. The standard defines fair value 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.” It also establishes a fair value hierarchy consisting of the following three levels that prioritize the inputs to the valuation techniques used to measure fair value:

● Level 1 – Unadjusted, quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that an entity has the ability to access at the measurement date;

● Level 2 – Other significant observable inputs (including, but not limited to, quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not active for identical or similar assets or liabilities, and model‑derived valuations in which all significant inputs and significant value drivers are observable in active markets); and

● Level 3 – Significant unobservable inputs (including the entity’s own assumptions about what market participants would use to price the asset or liability based on the best available information) when observable inputs are not available.

Based on the definitions, the following table represents the Company’s assets categorized in the Level 1 to Level 3 hierarchies:

	September 30, 2023
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
	(In thousands)
Money market fund deposits	$	59,382	$	-	$	-	$	59,382
Mutual fund investments		10		-		-		10
Total	$	59,392	$	-	$	-	$	59,392
Amounts included in
Cash and cash equivalents	$	59,382	$	-	$	-	$	59,382
Investments in marketable securities		10		-		-		10
Total	$	59,392	$	-	$	-	$	59,392

	September 30, 2022
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
	(In thousands)
Money market fund deposits	$	54,225	$	-	$	-	$	54,225
Mutual fund investments		9		-		-		9
Total	$	54,234	$	-	$	-	$	54,234
Amounts included in
Cash and cash equivalents	$	54,225	$	-	$	-	$	54,225
Investments in marketable securities		9		-		-		9
Total	$	54,234	$	-	$	-	$	54,234

There were no transfers between levels during fiscal years 2023 or 2022.

The fair values of receivables, payables, and accrued liabilities approximate their book values given the short-term nature of those instruments.

The fair value of the 2026 Notes (see Note 9 in this Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”) was approximately $36.8 million as of September 30, 2023, based on the last trading price of the notes on that date (Level 1).