WINMARK CORP Commitments Disclosure
12. Commitments and Contingencies:
Employee Benefit Plan
The Company provides a 401(k) Savings Incentive Plan which covers substantially all employees. The plan provides for matching contributions and optional profit-sharing contributions at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Employee contributions are fully vested; matching and profit sharing contributions are subject to a five-year service vesting schedule. Company contributions to the plan for 2025, 2024 and 2023 were $369,800, $364,900 and $371,200, respectively.
Litigation
From time to time, the Company is exposed to asserted and unasserted legal claims encountered in the normal course of business. Management believes that the ultimate resolution of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on the consolidated financial position or results of operations of the Company.
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 25, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 26, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 28, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Mar 10, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Mar 8, 2022 | |
| 2020 | Mar 9, 2021 | |
| 2019 | Mar 10, 2020 | |
| 2018 | Mar 8, 2019 | |
| 2017 | Mar 9, 2018 | |
| 2016 | Mar 10, 2017 | |
| 2015 | Mar 8, 2016 | |
About Commitments Disclosures
Commitments and contingencies disclosures catalog a company's off-balance-sheet obligations and legal exposures — purchase commitments, guarantee arrangements, pending litigation, and regulatory proceedings. These items represent potential future cash outflows that may not appear as liabilities on the balance sheet until they become probable and estimable.
Key signals: litigation reserves and disclosed loss ranges quantify management's estimate of legal exposure, but unquantified "reasonably possible" losses often represent the larger risk. Watch for changes in language around pending cases — shifts from "remote" to "reasonably possible" or increases in estimated loss ranges signal deteriorating outcomes. Unconditional purchase obligations and take-or-pay contracts create fixed cost structures that reduce operational flexibility. Guarantee arrangements for subsidiaries or joint ventures can create cascading obligations. Compare the total commitment schedule against projected free cash flow to assess whether the company can meet its obligations without additional financing.