Microsoft capex (trailing 12 months)

## What this measures

Microsoft's capital expenditure over the trailing four quarters. Capital expenditure is cash spent on property and equipment.

## Background

Microsoft's capital expenditure over the trailing four quarters, $ billions.

Cash purchases of property and equipment from the company's 10-Q and 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR XBRL, us-gaap PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment or PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets, whichever the company currently files). Cash-flow statements are year-to-date, so quarters are derived by differencing within each fiscal year; the fourth quarter is the annual figure minus nine months. Excludes assets acquired under finance leases, which Microsoft and Amazon add to their headline capex, so these read below company press releases. Synced weekly by /api/cron/edgar-capex-sync.

## Why it matters

Microsoft's capex is a visible commitment to infrastructure, especially datacenter capacity for cloud and AI services. A rising trend signals the company expects sustained demand for those services, which shapes competition for compute, pricing for enterprise software, and the pace of AI deployment across the economy.

## How to read it

A rising value means Microsoft is spending more on long-lived assets; a falling value means spending is slowing. Compare the level and rate of change to prior periods to see whether the company is accelerating or moderating investment.

## What it does not say

This does not include assets acquired under finance leases, so the figure runs below Microsoft's headline capital expenditure in press releases. It does not indicate profitability, revenue, or whether the spending will produce the expected returns.

## Source

Palanor reads XBRL filings from SEC EDGAR, a public-domain repository. The series draws on cash purchases of property and equipment (us-gaap PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment or PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets) from Microsoft's 10-Q and 10-K filings.