capital expenditure

American  

noun

Accounting, Finance.

1. an addition to the value of fixed assets, as by the purchase of a new building.

---

capital expenditure British  

noun

1. expenditure on acquisitions of or improvements to fixed assets

---

capital expenditure Cultural  

1. The purchase of an asset by a firm.

---

Etymology

Origin of capital expenditure

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Analysts argue concerns over Microsoft’s $100 billion capital expenditure are shortsighted, as cloud contracts cover hardware life.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

About $250 million to $300 million in capital expenditure is still needed to finish infrastructure upgrades and increase production to 75,000 tons of copper and 15,000 tons of cobalt annually, according to Powch.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

The bank expects softer advertising momentum and higher AI capital expenditure to keep margins under pressure.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

Cole Smead, CEO and portfolio manager of Smead Capital Management, talked about the mania in American capital expenditure cycles, with hyperscalers spending hundreds of billions of dollars on AI.

From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026

Such a term, though in common use, is not strictly correct, for the capital value vanishes when the ore is extracted, but in conformity with current usage the term "capital expenditure" will be adopted.

From Principles of Mining Valuation, Organization and Administration by Hoover, Herbert