Fair Value Measurements

9 Months Ended

Sep. 24, 2017

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Fair value is the price that would be received upon the sale of an asset or paid upon transfer of a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The transaction would be in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability, based on assumptions that a market participant would use in pricing the asset or liability. The fair value hierarchy consists of three levels:

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

Level 2–inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly; and

Level 3–unobservable inputs for the asset or liability.

Assets/Liabilities Measured and Recorded at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis

The following table summarizes our financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 24, 2017, and December 25, 2016:



(In thousands)	September 24, 2017								December 25, 2016 ⁽³⁾
(In thousands)	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets:
Short-term AFS securities ⁽¹⁾
U.S Treasury securities	$	73,175	$	—	$	73,175	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—
Corporate debt securities	156,639		—		156,639		—		—		—		—		—
U.S. governmental agency securities	53,754		—		53,754		—		—		—		—		—
Certificates of deposit	20,403		—		20,403		—		—		—		—		—
Commercial paper	32,471		—		32,471		—		—		—		—		—
Total short-term AFS securities	$	336,442	$	—	$	336,442	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—
Long-term AFS securities ⁽¹⁾
U.S. governmental agency securities	$	96,817	$	—	$	96,817	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—
Corporate debt securities	97,345		—		97,345		—		—		—		—		—
U.S Treasury securities	47,620		—		47,620		—		—		—		—		—
Total long-term AFS securities	$	241,782	$	—	$	241,782	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—
Liabilities:
Deferred compensation ⁽²⁾	$	28,354	$	28,354	$	—	$	—	$	31,006	$	31,006	$	—	$	—

⁽¹⁾ Our marketable securities, which include U.S. Treasury securities, corporate debt securities, U.S. government agency securities, municipal securities, certificates of deposit and commercial paper, are recorded at fair value (see Note 3). We classified these investments as Level 2 since the fair value is based on market observable inputs for investments with similar terms and maturities.

⁽²⁾ The deferred compensation liability, included in “Other liabilities—Other” in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, consists of deferrals under The New York Times Company Deferred Executive Compensation Plan (the “DEC”), which enables certain eligible executives to elect to defer a portion of their compensation on a pre-tax basis. The deferred amounts are invested at the executives’ option in various mutual funds. The fair value of deferred compensation is based on the mutual fund investments elected by the executives and on quoted prices in active markets for identical assets. Participation in the DEC was frozen effective December 31, 2015.

⁽³⁾ As noted in Note 2, in the third quarter of 2017, we reclassified our marketable securities from HTM to AFS. Prior to being classified as AFS, the securities were recorded at amortized cost and not adjusted to fair value in accordance with the HTM accounting treatment.

Financial Instruments Disclosed, But Not Reported, at Fair Value

The carrying value of our long-term debt was approximately $243 million as of September 24, 2017 and approximately $240 million as of December 25, 2016. The fair value of our long-term debt was approximately $281 million and $298 million as of September 24, 2017 and December 25, 2016, respectively. We estimate the fair value of our debt utilizing market quotations for debt that have quoted prices in active markets. Since our debt does not trade on a daily basis in an active market, the fair value estimates are based on market observable inputs based on borrowing rates currently available for debt with similar terms and average maturities (Level 2).

- 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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