Purchase Of Long Term Investments (Historical)
Returns the cash used for purchasing long-term investments for a company. This represents outflows for acquiring equity stakes, long-term bonds, and other non-current investment securities.
Understanding the Metric
Long-term investment purchases include:
- Strategic equity stakes in other companies
- Long-term bond purchases
- Joint venture investments
- Minority interest acquisitions
Negative values indicate cash used for investment purchases (outflow). This is a common use of investing cash flow for companies with excess capital.
Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Symbol | Stock ticker (e.g., AAPL, MSFT) |
| Year | Fiscal year or period code (lq, ly, lq-1, ly-1, lt, lt-1) |
| Quarter | Optional: 1, 2, 3, or 4 (default: 1) |
| TTM | Optional: "TTM" for trailing twelve months |
Period Codes
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| lq | Last reported quarter |
| lq-1 | Quarter before last |
| ly | Last fiscal year |
| ly-1 | Year before last |
| lt | Last trailing twelve months |
| lt-1 | Prior trailing twelve months |
Syntax
=hf_Purchase_of_long_term_investments(Symbol, Year, [Quarter], [TTM])Parameters
Stock ticker symbol
Fiscal year (e.g., 2023) or period code (lq, lq-1, ly, ly-1, lt, lt-1)
Calendar quarter (1-4)
Set to 'TTM' for trailing twelve months
Returns
Cash used for purchase of long-term investments (in currency units, typically negative)
Examples
=hf_Purchase_of_long_term_investments("BRK-B", 2023, 4)=hf_Purchase_of_long_term_investments("AAPL", "ly")=hf_Purchase_of_long_term_investments("GOOGL", 2023, , "TTM")=hf_Purchase_of_long_term_investments(A1, B1, C1)=hf_Purchase_of_long_term_investments("MSFT", "lq")When to Use
- Analyzing strategic investment activity
- Understanding capital allocation decisions
- Evaluating investment portfolio growth
- Calculating net investment cash flow
- Assessing M&A and investment strategy
When NOT to Use
| Scenario | Use Instead |
|---|---|
| Need short-term investment purchases | hf_Purchase_of_short_term_investments() |
| Need long-term investment sales | hf_Sale_of_long_term_investments() |
| Need capital expenditures | hf_Capital_Expenditures() |
| Need acquisition spending | Check acquisition-specific functions |
Common Issues & FAQ
Why is the value negative?
Purchases represent cash outflows, so they're shown as negative numbers in the cash flow statement. A larger negative number means more cash was spent on investments.
What's the difference between this and acquisitions?
This captures portfolio investments (partial stakes), while acquisitions of entire businesses may be reported separately. Check company disclosures for acquisition-specific details.
How do I calculate net investment activity?
Net = hf_Sale_of_long_term_investments() + hf_Purchase_of_long_term_investments(). The purchase is typically negative, so this gives net cash flow from long-term investment activity.
Related Formulas
More MarketXLS Historical Fundamentals formulas you can use in the same worksheet:
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