Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
Foreign Currency Exchange Risk
Cash Flow Exposure. We expect certain of our subsidiaries to have future cash flows that will be denominated in currencies other than the subsidiaries’ functional currencies. Changes in the exchange rates between the functional currencies of our subsidiaries and the other currencies in which they transact will cause fluctuations in the cash flows we expect to receive or pay when these cash flows are realized or settled. Accordingly, we enter into foreign exchange forward contracts to hedge a portion of these forecasted cash flows. These foreign exchange forward contracts qualify for accounting as cash flow hedges in accordance with ASC 815 and we designated them as such. We initially report unrealized gains or losses for such contracts in “Accumulated other comprehensive loss” and subsequently reclassify amounts into earnings when the hedged transaction occurs and impacts earnings. For additional details on our derivative hedging instruments and activities, see Note 8. “Derivative Financial Instruments” to our consolidated financial statements.
Certain of our international operations, such as our manufacturing facilities in Malaysia and Vietnam, pay a portion of their operating expenses, including associate wages and utilities, in local currencies, which exposes us to foreign currency exchange risk for such expenses. Our manufacturing facilities are also exposed to foreign currency exchange risk for purchases of certain equipment and raw materials from international vendors. To the extent we expand into new markets, particularly emerging markets, our total foreign currency exchange risk, in terms of both size and exchange rate volatility, and the number of foreign currencies we are exposed to could increase significantly.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, 5% of our net sales were denominated in foreign currencies, including Japanese yen and Euro. As a result, we may, from time to time, have exposure to foreign currencies with respect to our net sales, which has historically represented one of our primary foreign currency exchange risks. A 10% change in the U.S. dollar to Japanese yen and Euro exchange rates would have had an aggregate impact on our net sales of $9.1 million, excluding the effect of our hedging activities.
Transaction Exposure. Many of our subsidiaries have assets and liabilities (primarily cash, receivables, deferred taxes, payables, accrued expenses, long-term debt, and solar module collection and recycling liabilities) that are denominated in currencies other than the subsidiaries’ functional currencies. Changes in the exchange rates between
the functional currencies of our subsidiaries and the other currencies in which these assets and liabilities are denominated will create fluctuations in our reported consolidated statements of operations and cash flows. We may enter into foreign exchange forward contracts or other financial instruments to economically hedge assets and liabilities against the effects of currency exchange rate fluctuations. The gains and losses on such foreign exchange forward contracts will economically offset all or part of the transaction gains and losses that we recognize in earnings on the related foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities. For additional details on our economic hedging instruments and activities, see Note 8. “Derivative Financial Instruments” to our consolidated financial statements.
As of December 31, 2022, a 10% change in the U.S. dollar relative to our primary foreign currency exposures would not have had a significant impact to our net foreign currency income or loss, including the effect of our hedging activities.
Interest Rate Risk
Customer Financing Exposure. We are also indirectly exposed to interest rate risk because many of our customers depend on debt financings to purchase modules. An increase in interest rates could make it challenging for our customers to obtain the capital necessary to make such purchases on favorable terms, or at all. Such factors could reduce demand or lower the price we can charge for our modules, thereby reducing our net sales and gross profit.
Marketable Securities and Restricted Marketable Securities Exposure. We invest in various debt securities, which exposes us to interest rate risk. The primary objectives of our investment activities are to preserve principal and provide liquidity, while at the same time maximizing the return on our investments. Many of the securities in which we invest may be subject to market risk. Accordingly, a change in prevailing interest rates may cause the market value of such investments to fluctuate. For example, if we hold a security that was issued with an interest rate fixed at the then-prevailing rate and the prevailing interest rate subsequently rises, the market value of our investment may decline.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, our marketable securities earned a return of 2%, including the impact of fluctuations in the price of the underlying securities, and had a weighted-average maturity of 6 months as of the end of the period. Based on our investment positions as of December 31, 2022, a hypothetical 100 basis point change in interest rates would have resulted in a $0.5 million change in the market value of our marketable securities investment portfolio. For the year ended December 31, 2022, our restricted marketable securities incurred a loss of 22%, including the impact of fluctuations in the price of the underlying securities, and had a weighted-average maturity of approximately 12 years as of the end of the period. Based on our restricted marketable securities positions as of December 31, 2022, a hypothetical 100 basis point change in interest rates would have resulted in a $17.6 million change in the market value of our restricted marketable securities portfolio.
Commodity and Component Risk
Some of our raw materials and components are sourced from a limited number of suppliers or a single supplier. Although we may enter into long-term supply contracts for certain raw materials and components, we may be exposed to price changes for certain raw materials and components used to manufacture our solar modules for which we are unable to secure long-term supply contracts or if our demand exceeds our committed supply. From time to time, we may utilize derivative hedging instruments to mitigate such raw material price changes. In addition, the failure of a key supplier could disrupt our supply chain, which could result in higher prices and/or a disruption in our manufacturing process. As a result, we may be in default of our delivery obligations if we experience a manufacturing disruption. In addition to price changes in the raw materials and components used in our manufacturing process, we are also exposed to price changes associated with the shipping, handling, storage, and distribution of our modules. To mitigate such price changes, we have used and expect to continue using module contract structures that provide additional consideration to us if the cost of certain raw materials or logistics services
exceeds a defined threshold. However, we may be unable to pass along the full amount of cost increases we experience for such raw materials, components, and logistics services to our customers.
Credit Risk
We have certain financial and derivative instruments that subject us to credit risk. These consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, accounts receivable, restricted cash, restricted cash equivalents, restricted marketable securities, foreign exchange forward contracts, and commodity swap contracts. We are exposed to credit losses in the event of nonperformance by the counterparties to our financial and derivative instruments. We place these instruments with various high-quality financial institutions and limit the amount of credit risk from any one counterparty. We monitor the credit standing of our counterparty financial institutions. Our net sales are primarily concentrated among a limited number of customers. We monitor the financial condition of our customers and perform credit evaluations whenever considered necessary. We typically require some form of payment security from our customers, including, but not limited to, advance payments, parent guarantees, letters of credit, bank guarantees, or surety bonds.
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