Capital Expenditures CapEx
The cash a company spends to buy, build, or upgrade long-lived physical and intangible assets like property, plant, and equipment.
What it is
Capital expenditures are the funds a company invests in long-lived assets — factories, equipment, buildings, technology, and similar items expected to be used for years. Because these assets benefit multiple periods, the spending is recorded on the balance sheet and expensed gradually through depreciation rather than hitting the income statement all at once. CapEx shows up as a cash outflow in the investing section of the cash flow statement.
Why it matters
CapEx reveals how much a company must reinvest to stay competitive and grow, and it directly reduces free cash flow. Analysts often split it into maintenance CapEx (keeping the existing business running) and growth CapEx (expanding it), though companies rarely report the breakdown. High CapEx is not inherently bad, but it should be judged against the returns the spending generates.
How it's calculated
It is taken from the cash flow statement, typically the line for purchases of property, plant, and equipment (and sometimes capitalized software). It is a cash outflow, so it is shown as a negative or subtracted figure.
How Quintarthai uses it
Capital expenditures appear in the investing section of the 10-year cash-flow statement under the Financials tab on each stock's company page and feed the free-cash-flow calculation.