Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
ITEM 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Interest Rate and Market Risk
Our investment portfolio is exposed to market risk from changes in interest rates. The goals of our investment policy are preservation of capital, fulfillment of liquidity needs and fiduciary control of cash and cash equivalents and investments. We also seek to maximize income from our investments without assuming significant risk. To achieve our goals, we maintain a portfolio of cash equivalents and investments in a variety of securities of high credit quality. The securities in our investment portfolio are not leveraged, are classified as available for sale and are, due to their short-term nature, subject to minimal interest rate risk. The fair market value of our fixed rate securities may be adversely impacted by increases in interest rates while income earned may decline as a result of decreases in interest rates. A hypothetical 100 basis-point (one percentage point) increase or decrease in interest rates compared to rates on December 31, 2022 would have affected the fair value of our investment portfolio by approximately $2.5 million.
We carry our convertible senior notes at the principal amount, less unamortized debt issuance costs, on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Because the notes have a fixed annual interest rate of 1.50%, we do not have any economic interest rate exposure or financial statement risk associated with changes in interest rates. The fair value of the notes, however, may fluctuate when interest rates and the market price of our stock changes. See Note 7. Convertible Senior Notes in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Form 10-K for additional information.
Foreign Exchange Risk
Our revenue, expense, and capital purchasing activities are primarily transacted in U.S. dollars; however, a portion of our operations is conducted in foreign currencies. As a result, we have foreign exchange exposures relating to non-U.S. dollar denominated cash flows and monetary assets and liabilities that are denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars. The value of the amounts is exposed to changes in currency exchange rates from the time the transactions are originated, until the time the cash settlement is converted into U.S. dollars. Our foreign currency exposure is primarily concentrated in the Euro. A 10% strengthening of the U.S. dollar exchange rate against all currencies with which we have exposure, after taking into account offsetting positions at December 31, 2022 would have resulted in a $1.3 million decrease in the carrying amounts of those net assets. Actual gains and losses in the future may differ materially from these hypothetical gains and losses based on changes in the timing and amount of foreign currency exchange rate movements and our actual exposure. Our international operations are subject to risks typical of international operations, including, but not limited to, differing economic conditions, changes in political climate, differing tax structures, other regulations and restrictions, and foreign exchange rate volatility.
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