Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risks
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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risks
We operate and conduct business in many foreign countries and as a result are exposed to movements in foreign currency exchange rates. Our exposure to exchange rates has the following effects:
| • | Exchange rate movements on financial instruments and transactions denominated in foreign currencies that impact earnings; and |
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| • | Exchange rate movements upon conversion of net assets and net income of foreign subsidiaries for which the functional currency is not the U.S. dollar. |
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Our most significant foreign currency exposure relates to the Japanese yen, South Korean won, New Taiwan dollar, Chinese yuan and euro. We seek to mitigate the impact of exchange rate movements in our income statement by using over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivative instruments including foreign exchange forward and option contracts. In general, these hedges expire coincident with the timing of the underlying foreign currency commitments and transactions.
We are exposed to potential losses in the event of non-performance by our counterparties to these derivative contracts. However, we minimize this risk by maintaining a diverse group of highly-rated major financial institutions as our counterparties. We do not expect to record any losses as a result of such counterparty default. Neither we nor our counterparties are required to post collateral for these financial instruments.
Our cash flow hedging activities utilize OTC foreign exchange forward contracts to reduce the risk that movements in exchange rates will adversely affect the net cash flows resulting from the sale of products to foreign customers and purchases from foreign suppliers. We also use OTC foreign exchange forward and option contracts that are not designated as hedged instruments. These contracts are used to offset economic currency risks. The undesignated hedges limit exposure to foreign functional currency fluctuations related to certain subsidiaries’ monetary assets, monetary liabilities and net earnings in foreign currencies. A significant portion of our non-U.S. revenue is denominated in Japanese yen. When this revenue is translated back to U.S. dollars, we are exposed to foreign exchange rate movements in the Japanese yen. To protect translated earnings against movements in the Japanese yen, we have entered into a series of option contracts and average rate forwards.
We use a sensitivity analysis to assess the market risk associated with foreign currency exposure. Market risk is defined as the potential change in fair value of assets and liabilities resulting from an adverse movement in foreign currency exchange rates. As of December 31, 2023, with respect to open foreign exchange forward and option contracts and foreign denominated debt with values exposed to exchange rate movements, a 10% adverse movement in quoted foreign currency exchange rates could result in a loss in fair value of these instruments of $0.6 billion compared to $0.8 billion as of December 31, 2022. Specific to the Japanese yen, a 10% adverse movement in quoted yen exchange rates could result in a loss in fair value of these instruments of $0.3 billion and $0.4 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Management expects that these hypothetical losses from a 10% adverse movement in quoted foreign currency exchange rates on the derivative financial instruments should largely offset gains on the assets, liabilities and future transactions being hedged.
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