Capital expenditures (capex)
Money spent on long-lasting physical assets such as factories, equipment and data centers. The cash goes out right away, but the cost reaches profit only gradually, as depreciation.
Simple example
A chipmaker spends $1,000 on a new factory this year: $1,000 of capex in the cash flow statement. If the factory lasts ten years, profit is charged only $100 of depreciation each year.