NOTE G - PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET

Property and equipment, net, consisted of the following (in thousands):

    

Useful Life

    

    

 In Years

December 31, 2023

December 31, 2022

Tooling and equipment

 

7 - 15

$

16,024

$

14,649

Furniture and other equipment

 

5

 

12,076

 

10,090

Computer software

 

5

 

2,374

 

2,152

Leasehold improvements

 

3 - 10

 

16,269

 

7,390

Equipment under capital lease

 

5

 

192

 

192

Flight equipment held for R&D

2

7,784

-

 

54,719

 

34,473

Less accumulated depreciation

 

(27,027)

 

(21,835)

$

27,692

$

12,638

Depreciation expense, which includes amortization of equipment under capital lease, was as follows (in thousands):

Year Ended December 31, 

2023

2022

2021

Depreciation expense

$

3,736

$

2,242

$

1,997

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2023Mar 8, 2024Showing above
2022Mar 7, 2023
2021Mar 15, 2022
2020Mar 16, 2021

About PP&E Disclosures

The PP&E disclosure details a company's physical asset base — land, buildings, machinery, and equipment — along with the depreciation methods and useful life assumptions that determine how these costs flow through the income statement. Capitalization policy thresholds reveal management's judgment on the boundary between expense and asset, directly affecting both reported earnings and asset values.

Key signals: changes in estimated useful lives or depreciation methods can materially shift reported earnings without any operational change. Compare capital expenditures against depreciation expense — when capex consistently trails depreciation, the asset base may be aging and underinvested. Watch for large asset impairments or write-downs that signal overvalued carrying amounts. Asset retirement obligations reveal future environmental or decommissioning costs that are often underappreciated. Compare PP&E intensity (PP&E-to-revenue) against industry peers to assess capital efficiency and competitive positioning.