What are U.S. companies doing with cash?

try{ var _=i o; . if(!_||_&&typeof _==="object"&&_.expiry Houthis strike Israel as conflict widens; 12 US soldiers injured in a Saudi strike Expert says the upcoming week will be a pivotal moment in the Iran war. Here’s why Leading broker sees gold falling to $3,700 as a real possibility U.S. tech pullback mirrors late stages of dotcom era, strategists say (South Africa Philippines Nigeria) What are U.S. companies doing with cash? By Author Simon Mugo Stock Markets Published 03/28/2026, 06:48 PM What are U.S. companies doing with cash? 0 VRTX -4.56% NOW -4.08% RUI -1.70% CRWD -5.87% NET -3.38% DASH -3.53% Investing.com -- Large-cap U.S. corporations are funneling record amounts of capital into growth initiatives, even as cash balances swell to unprecedented levels. According to a new benchmark report from Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) analyzing fourth-quarter 2025 data, the total cash pile for the Russell 1000 has climbed to $2.2 trillion. Upgrade to InvestingPro for a deeper dive into market-moving news However, despite this absolute growth, the cash-to-enterprise value ratio has drifted toward a 20-year low of 3.8%, reflecting a market where companies are aggressively deploying every incremental dollar of operating cash flow back into their businesses. Capex surge and margin optimism The primary driver of the capital deployment is a massive 21.2% year-over-year surge in capital expenditures, which reached $1.2 trillion in the final quarter of 2025. The aggressive investment cycle suggests that management teams remain highly optimistic about the forward path for profitability. Consensus estimates project that net margins will expand to approximately 15.3% over the next twelve months. Companies are increasingly prioritizing long-term scale and physical infrastructure over short-term liquidity, even as the broader macroeconomic environment remains clouded by geopolitical volatility. Morgan Stanley has identified a select group of cash-rich leaders with market caps exceedi...