Fair Value of Instruments

3 Months Ended

Mar. 30, 2024

Fair Value of Instruments

Fair Value of Instruments

Note C – Fair Value of Instruments

Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The company utilizes a fair value hierarchy, which maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. The fair value hierarchy has three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1	Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities.
Level 2	Quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the asset or liability.
Level 3	Prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable.

The Company’s financial instruments are primarily investments in marketable securities (Level 1) and pension assets, see Note L, Retirement Benefit Plans.

The carrying amounts of other financial instruments (cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, accounts receivable, accounts payable and debt) as of March 30, 2024 and December 30, 2023, approximate fair value because of their short-term nature and market-based interest rates.