Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

Market risk

We do not engage in speculative transactions nor do we hold or issue financial instruments for trading purposes. In connection with the recapitalizations of our business, we have issued fixed rate notes and entered into variable funding notes and, at January 1, 2023, we are exposed to interest rate risk on borrowings under our variable funding notes. As of January 1, 2023, we did not have any outstanding borrowings under our 2022 and 2021 Variable Funding Notes.

Our 2021 Variable Funding Notes bear interest at fluctuating interest rates based on LIBOR. Our 2021 Variable Funding Notes loan documents provide that after the date on which the administrator for LIBOR permanently or indefinitely ceases to provide all available settings of U.S. dollar LIBOR, any new advances under the 2021 Variable Funding Notes that would otherwise have borne interest based on LIBOR, as well as any existing LIBOR advances for which the interest period has expired, will instead bear interest at a forward-looking term rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“Term SOFR”), plus a spread adjustment, that in each case have been selected or recommended by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The loan documents also permit the lenders to effect a transition from LIBOR to Term SOFR at an earlier date, subject to certain conditions. Because the composition and characteristics of Term SOFR are not the same as those of LIBOR, there can be no assurance that Term SOFR will perform the same way LIBOR would have at any given time or for any applicable period. As a result, our interest expense could increase, in which event we may have difficulties making interest payments and funding our other fixed costs, and our available cash flow for general corporate requirements may be adversely affected. Our interest expense could also be increased by the rising interest rate environment, which could potentially have an adverse impact on our 2021 Variable Funding Notes, as well as on our 2022 Variable Funding Notes, which bear interest at fluctuating interest rates that are based on Term SOFR.

Our fixed-rate debt exposes the Company to changes in market interest rates reflected in the fair value of the debt and to the risk that the Company may need to refinance maturing debt with new debt at a higher rate.

We are exposed to market risks from changes in commodity prices. During the normal course of business, we purchase cheese and certain other food products that are affected by changes in commodity prices and, as a result, we are subject to volatility in our food costs. Severe increases in commodity prices or food costs, including as a result of inflation, could affect the global and U.S. economies and could also adversely impact our business, financial condition or results of operations. We may periodically enter into financial instruments to manage this risk, although we have not done so historically. We do not engage in speculative transactions or hold or issue financial instruments for trading purposes. In instances when we use fixed pricing agreements with our suppliers, these agreements cover our physical commodity needs, are not net-settled and are accounted for as normal purchases.

Foreign currency exchange rate risk

We have exposure to various foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations for revenues generated by our operations outside the U.S., which can adversely impact our net income and cash flows. Approximately 6.5% of our total revenues in 2022, 6.8% of our total revenues in 2021 and 6.1% of our total revenues in 2020 were derived from our international franchise segment, a majority of which were denominated in foreign currencies. We also operate dough manufacturing and distribution facilities in Canada, which generate revenues denominated in Canadian dollars. We do not enter into financial instruments to manage this foreign currency exchange risk. A hypothetical 10% adverse change in the foreign currency rates for our international markets would have resulted in a negative impact on royalty revenues of approximately $26.1 million in 2022.

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