Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
ITEM 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk
We are exposed to market risks in the ordinary course of business. Some potential market risks are discussed below:
FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE RISK
We are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk on the translation of our foreign operations into the U.S. dollar and on purchases of goods in currencies that are not the local currencies of stores where the goods are sold and on intercompany debt and interest payable between and among our domestic and international operations. Our currency risk primarily relates to our activity in the Canadian dollar, British pound and Euro. As more fully described in Note E—Financial Instruments of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, we use derivative financial instruments to hedge a portion of certain merchandise purchase commitments, primarily at our international operations, and a portion of our intercompany transactions with and within our international operations. We enter into derivative contracts only for the purpose of hedging the underlying economic exposure. We utilize currency forward and swap contracts, designed to offset the gains or losses on the underlying exposures. The contracts are executed with banks we believe are creditworthy and are denominated in currencies of major industrial countries. Our foreign exchange risk management policy prohibits us from using derivative financial instruments for trading or other speculative purposes and we do not use any leveraged derivative financial instruments. We have performed a sensitivity analysis assuming a hypothetical 10% movement in foreign currency exchange rates applied to the hedging contracts and the underlying exposures described above as well as the translation of our foreign operations into our reporting currency. The analysis indicated a potential impact of approximately $104 million on our pre-tax income in fiscal 2023 and approximately $65 million in fiscal 2022.
EQUITY PRICE AND OTHER MARKET RISK
The assets of our funded qualified pension plan, a portion of which are equity securities, are subject to the risks and uncertainties of the financial markets. We invest the pension assets (described further in Note I—Pension Plans and Other Retirement Benefits of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements) in a manner that attempts to manage our exposure to market uncertainties. Investments, in general, are exposed to various risks, such as interest rate, credit, and overall market volatility risks. A significant decline in the financial markets could adversely affect the value of our pension plan assets and the funded status of our pension plan, resulting in increased required contributions to the plan or other plan-related liabilities. Our pension plan investment policy prohibits the use of derivatives for speculative purposes.
ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
The information required by this item may be found on pages F-1 through F-34 of this annual report on Form 10-K.
ITEM 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
Not applicable.