The Company’s financial instruments primarily consist of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, bank overdrafts, outstanding indebtedness, foreign currency forward contracts, and benefit plan assets. The fair value of the Company’s benefit plan assets is disclosed in Note 13, “Employee Benefit Plans” and except for outstanding indebtedness and foreign currency forward contracts, the carrying value of the Company’s other financial instruments approximates fair value.
The Company uses a market approach to determine the fair value of its debt instruments, utilizing quoted prices in active markets, interest rates and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving similar instruments. Therefore, the inputs used to measure the fair value of the Company’s debt instruments are classified as Level 2 within the fair value hierarchy.
The carrying value of Wesco’s debt instruments with fixed interest rates was $3,871.9 million and $3,074.9 million as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. The estimated fair value of this debt was $4,004.2 million and $3,127.3 million as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. The reported carrying values of Wesco’s other debt instruments, including those with variable interest rates, approximated their fair values as of December 31, 2025 and 2024.
The Company purchases foreign currency forward contracts to reduce the effect of fluctuations in foreign currency-denominated accounts on its earnings. The foreign currency forward contracts are not designated as hedges for accounting purposes. The Company’s strategy is to negotiate terms for its derivatives and other financial instruments to be highly effective, such that the change in the value of the derivative offsets the impact of the underlying hedge. Its counterparties to foreign
currency forward contracts have investment-grade credit ratings. The Company regularly monitors the creditworthiness of its counterparties as a risk mitigation effort to protect the value of its derivatives.
The Company does not hedge 100% of its foreign currency-denominated accounts. In addition, the results of hedging can vary significantly based on various factors, such as the timing of executing foreign currency forward contracts versus the movement of currencies, as well as fluctuations in the account balances throughout each reporting period. The fair value of foreign currency forward contracts is based on the difference between the contract rate and the current price of a forward contract with an equivalent remaining term. The fair value of foreign currency forward contracts is measured using observable market information. These inputs are considered Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. At December 31, 2025 and 2024, foreign currency forward contracts were revalued at then-current foreign exchange rates with the changes in valuation reflected directly in other non-operating expense (income) in the Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income offsetting the transaction gain (loss) recorded on foreign currency-denominated accounts. At December 31, 2025 and 2024, the gross and net notional amounts of foreign currency forward contracts outstanding were approximately $286.3 million and $345.7 million, respectively. While all of the Company’s foreign currency forward contracts are subject to master netting arrangements with its counterparties, assets and liabilities related to these contracts are presented on a gross basis within the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The gross fair value of assets and liabilities related to foreign currency forward contracts were immaterial