Should you rely on profits and cash reserves like everyone else instead of borrowing?

Executives may be talking about recession risks more on investor conference calls. But if you look at what they’re actually doing, things look a little different.

Driving the news: The nation’s biggest firms reported a record sum of capital expenditures (capex) — investments in buildings, new machinery or technology.

Why it matters: Restrained investment on the part of businesses is one way in which the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes translate into slower economic activity.

• So far, that impact is not as prominent as one might expect.

By the numbers: In the third quarter, S&P 500 companies spent $222 billion on capital investments, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.