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.