Company: CHEF
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001517175-25-000002
Chunk: 85

Company: Chefs' Warehouse, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 7
Chunk 85
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 the useful life of an intangible asset also requires judgment, as different types of intangible assets will have different useful lives. The excess of the purchase price over the fair values of identifiable assets and liabilities is recorded as goodwill.

We account for contingent consideration relating to business combinations as a liability and an increase to goodwill at the date of the acquisition and continually remeasure the liability at each balance sheet date by recording changes in the fair value through our consolidated statements of operations. We determine the fair value of contingent consideration based on future operating projections under various potential scenarios, including the use of Monte Carlo simulation models, and weight the probability of these outcomes. The ultimate settlement of contingent earn-out liabilities relating to business combinations may be for amounts which are materially different from the amounts initially recorded and may cause volatility in our results of operations.

Valuation of Goodwill and Intangible Assets

We are required to test goodwill for impairment at each of our reporting units annually, or more frequently when circumstances indicate an impairment may have occurred. We have elected to perform our annual tests for indications of goodwill impairment during the fourth quarter of each fiscal year. 

Goodwill is tested at the reporting unit level, which is an operating segment or a component of an operating segment. When analyzing whether to aggregate components into single reporting units, management considers whether each component has similar economic characteristics. We have evaluated the economic characteristics of our different geographic markets, including our recently acquired businesses, along with the similarity of the operations and margins, nature of the products, type of 

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customer and methods of distribution of products and the regulatory environment in which we operate. As of December 27, 2024, we maintain four reporting units.

In testing goodwill for impairment, we may elect to perform a qualitative assessment to evaluate whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of each reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. The qualitative analysis considers various factors including macroeconomic conditions, market conditions, industry trends, cost factors and financial performance, among others. If our qualitative assessment indicates that goodwill impairment is more likely than not, we proceed to perform a quantitative assessment to determine the fair value of the reporting unit. 

When a quantitative analysis is performed, we estimate the fair value of our reporting units using a combination of income and market approaches. The income approach incorporates the use of a discounted cash flow model that involves many management assumptions that are based upon future growth projections. Assumptions include estimates of future revenue based upon budget projections and growth rates. We develop estimates of future levels of gross and operating