Spending more on assets than the business brings in
143 companies above $1bn in revenue spent more on capital expenditure than their operations generated in cash.
Every large asset base was built this way at some point. A company constructing plants, networks or fabs must out-spend its cash generation for years before the assets produce anything, and financing that gap is what capital markets are for.
The question is what the spending is buying and whether the funding is secure. Growth capital expenditure into demand that already exists is a different proposition from maintenance spending on an asset base that is wearing out faster than the business can fund it, and the income statement shows both the same way.
Depreciation is the rough dividing line. Capital expenditure well above depreciation suggests expansion; capital expenditure near depreciation, with cash flow below it, suggests a company struggling to stand still.
What this is usually called
Spending of this kind is split into growth capex and maintenance capex, though filings report only the total. Capital intensity is the general term; a company in an investment phase is described as being in a capex cycle. Where the spending exceeds internal cash generation the shortfall is called an external funding requirement, met from cash, debt or equity issuance.
The question, as a query
Below is the query as a reader would type it. Edit the numbers to move the threshold and the answer changes with them.
capex > ocf AND revenue > 1b| Company | Revenue | Net income | Gross margin | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BABOEING CO | $89.46B | $2.24B | 4.8% | -$1.88B |
| C BankCITIGROUP INC | $85.22B | $14.31B | Unavailable | -$74.15B |
| BGBunge Global SA | $70.33B | $816.00M | 4.8% | -$879.00M |
| ORCLORACLE CORP | $67.36B | $17.09B | Unavailable | -$23.69B |
| GS Broker-dealerGOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC | $58.28B | $17.18B | Unavailable | -$47.22B |
| INTCINTEL CORP | $52.85B | -$267.00M | 34.8% | -$4.95B |
| MOH InsurerMOLINA HEALTHCARE, INC. | $45.43B | $472.00M | 13.1% | -$636.00M |
| SMCISuper Micro Computer, Inc. | $39.06B | $2.23B | 10.8% | -$6.97B |
| CHSCPCHS INC | $35.46B | $597.92M | 3.2% | -$92.79M |
| NUENUCOR CORP | $32.49B | $1.74B | 11.9% | -$188.00M |
| DUKDuke Energy CORP | $31.74B | $4.97B | Unavailable | -$1.69B |
| ARWARROW ELECTRONICS, INC. | $30.85B | $571.27M | 11.2% | -$37.20M |
| SOSOUTHERN CO | $29.55B | $4.34B | Unavailable | -$2.94B |
| PBFPBF Energy Inc. | $29.33B | -$158.50M | -1.9% | -$783.20M |
| AVTAVNET INC | $27.63B | $334.39M | 10.4% | -$354.50M |
| ANAUTONATION, INC. | $27.63B | $649.10M | 17.9% | -$197.50M |
| PCGPG&E Corp | $24.94B | Unavailable | Unavailable | -$3.07B |
| EXCEXELON CORP | $24.26B | Unavailable | Unavailable | -$2.28B |
| EIXEDISON INTERNATIONAL | $19.32B | $4.46B | Unavailable | -$715.00M |
| CLFCLEVELAND-CLIFFS INC. | $18.61B | -$1.48B | -4.6% | -$1.02B |
| GTGOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO /OH/ | $18.28B | -$1.72B | 18.4% | -$30.00M |
| LPLA Broker-dealerLPL Financial Holdings Inc. | $16.99B | $863.02M | Unavailable | -$981.78M |
| FLRFLUOR CORP | $15.50B | -$51.00M | -0.8% | -$437.00M |
| ECHOEchoStar CORP | $15.00B | -$14.50B | Unavailable | -$1.07B |
| VGVenture Global, Inc. | $13.77B | Unavailable | Unavailable | -$6.80B |
| ESEVERSOURCE ENERGY | $13.55B | Unavailable | Unavailable | -$45.10M |
| ETRENTERGY CORP /DE/ | $12.95B | Unavailable | Unavailable | -$2.53B |
| AESAES CORP | $12.23B | $910.00M | 18.1% | -$1.62B |
| MOSMOSAIC CO | $12.05B | $540.70M | 15.8% | -$534.60M |
| WLKWESTLAKE CORP | $11.17B | -$1.51B | 7.3% | -$530.00M |
| ANDEAndersons, Inc. | $11.01B | $95.71M | 6.5% | -$56.12M |
| NCLHNorwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. | $9.83B | $423.25M | 42.6% | -$1.17B |
| IEPICAHN ENTERPRISES L.P. | $9.66B | -$299.00M | Unavailable | -$654.00M |
| CNPCENTERPOINT ENERGY INC | $9.36B | $1.05B | 100.0% | -$2.38B |
| PPLPPL Corp | $9.04B | $1.18B | Unavailable | -$1.40B |
| AEEAMEREN CORP | $8.80B | Unavailable | Unavailable | -$775.00M |
| AAPADVANCE AUTO PARTS INC | $8.60B | $44.00M | 43.4% | -$298.00M |
| OPTUOptimum Communications, Inc. | $8.59B | -$1.87B | 69.3% | -$118.84M |
| SOLVSolventum Corp | $8.32B | $1.56B | 53.5% | -$10.00M |
| REZIRESIDEO TECHNOLOGIES, INC. | $7.47B | -$527.00M | 29.4% | -$1.25B |
Showing the 40 largest by revenue of 143. Open the full list in the screener.
What this does not show
Operating cash flow for financial companies reflects lending and trading activity, so this comparison means something quite different for them than for an industrial company.
The measures behind this
Capital expenditures Operating cash flow Free cash flow
Related findings
- Profitable on the income statement, burning cash in reality
- Growing five years running on almost no capital
Citing this
SequelSEC, “Spending more on assets than the business brings in”, 4 November 2026. https://sequelsec.com/findings/capex-above-operating-cash-flow
Figures are recomputed on every view from SEC filings, so a number quoted from this page should carry the date it was read.