Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk Interest Rate and Foreign Currency Risk Management The Company regularly reviews its foreign exchange forward and option positions and interest rate swaps, both on a stand-alone
basis and in conjunction with its underlying foreign currency and interest rate exposures. Given the effective horizons of the
Company’s risk management activities and the anticipatory nature of the exposures, there can be no assurance these positions
will offset more than a portion of the financial impact resulting from movements in either foreign exchange or interest rates.
Further, the recognition of the gains and losses related to these instruments may not coincide with the timing of gains and losses
related to the underlying economic exposures and, therefore, may adversely affect the Company’s financial condition and
operating results.
Interest Rate Risk The Company’s exposure to changes in interest rates relates primarily to the Company’s investment portfolio and outstanding
debt. While the Company is exposed to global interest rate fluctuations, it is most affected by fluctuations in U.S. interest rates.
Changes in U.S. interest rates affect the interest earned on the Company’s cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities and
the fair value of those securities, as well as costs associated with hedging and interest paid on the Company’s debt.
The Company’s investment policy and strategy are focused on the preservation of capital and supporting the Company’s liquidity
requirements. The Company uses a combination of internal and external management to execute its investment strategy and
achieve its investment objectives. The Company typically invests in highly rated securities, with the primary objective of
minimizing the potential risk of principal loss. The Company’s investment policy generally requires securities to be investment
grade and limits the amount of credit exposure to any one issuer. To provide a meaningful assessment of the interest rate risk
associated with the Company’s investment portfolio, the Company performed a sensitivity analysis to determine the impact a
change in interest rates would have on the value of the investment portfolio assuming a 100 basis point parallel shift in the yield
curve. Based on investment positions as of September 24, 2022 and September 25, 2021, a hypothetical 100 basis point
increase in interest rates across all maturities would result in a $4.0 billion and $4.1 billion incremental decline in the fair market
value of the portfolio, respectively. Such losses would only be realized if the Company sold the investments prior to maturity.
As of September 24, 2022, the Company had outstanding fixed-rate notes and as of September 25, 2021, the Company had
outstanding floating- and fixed-rate notes with varying maturities for an aggregate carrying amount of $110.1 billion and $118.7
billion, respectively. The Company has entered, and in the future may enter, into interest rate swaps to manage interest rate risk
on its outstanding term debt. Interest rate swaps allow the Company to effectively convert fixed-rate payments into floating-rate
payments or floating-rate payments into fixed-rate payments. Gains and losses on term debt are generally offset by the
corresponding losses and gains on the related hedging instrument. A 100 basis point increase in market interest rates would
cause interest expense on the Company’s debt as of September 24, 2022 and September 25, 2021 to increase by $201 million
and $186 million on an annualized basis, respectively.