Cash Flow From Investing Activities

Cash Flow from Investing Activities is tracked on the cash flow statement as a single sum on a line (not each individual transaction), and tracks how much the business has gained or lost while buying capital investments, such as equipment.

These are things the business has purchased that will (hopefully) produce a profit in the future, but might not be doing so right this minute.

This could be the purchase of equipment for a future project...like if Prince John (yeah, the one from Robin Hood) bought a medieval Caterpillar to excavate and start construction on a new prison to hold the non-tax-payers (the ones he wants to squeeze a bit). This would be a negative cash flow, because the money has been spent, but no profit made yet. But as long as the business doesn’t go on a spending spree, this negative transaction is fine...it’s an investment with future profit pending (hopefully).

Positive cash flow here are the sales of investments...perhaps the sale of equipment, collections on loans, or outstanding accounts.