TTM capital expenditures are the total cash a company spent on property, plant, and equipment over the trailing twelve months, the four most recent fiscal quarters. The figure gives an up-to-date, full-year view of how much the company is investing in its physical asset base.
Capital spending is often lumpy. A company may concentrate projects in certain quarters, or finish a large build-out in the middle of a fiscal year. Adding up four quarters smooths that timing while still reflecting the latest 10-Q, which a single quarter or the last annual report cannot do.
Capital expenditures come from the investing section of the cash flow statement, usually tagged PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment in XBRL. Cash flow statements in a 10-Q are presented on a fiscal year-to-date basis, so individual quarters are found by subtracting one year-to-date total from the next. The fourth quarter is the 10-K annual amount minus the nine-month amount from the third-quarter 10-Q. An equivalent shortcut is the last annual figure plus the current year-to-date amount minus the same year-to-date period a year earlier.
Filings show capital expenditures as a negative number, because they are cash outflows. GeminIQ takes the absolute value when it subtracts TTM capital expenditures from TTM operating cash flow to calculate free cash flow. Companies differ in which line they use: some report a broader PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets line that includes software and other intangibles, so check the element before comparing companies. Assets obtained on credit or through finance leases are noncash and are not in the figure.
Analysts compare TTM capital expenditures with TTM depreciation to judge whether a company is growing or merely maintaining its asset base, and with TTM operating cash flow to see how much of the cash the business generates is being reinvested. Because it moves in step with other TTM cash flow measures, it gives a consistent free cash flow figure that updates every quarter.
A: Take the last fiscal year's capital expenditures from the 10-K, add the current year-to-date amount from the latest 10-Q, and subtract the same year-to-date amount from the prior year. The result covers exactly the last four quarters.
A: A single quarter can badly misstate the pace of investment. Twelve months captures a full cycle of spending while staying current.
A: In the cash flow statement it is negative, since it is cash going out. Most calculations, including free cash flow, use its absolute value.
In the metrics library: Free Cash Flow
GeminIQ turns SEC EDGAR filings into interactive fundamental analysis. Explore the financial ratios and metrics library, the SEC filings glossary, or start screening every US public company.
Start 7-Day Free Trial →