AMERICOLD REALTY TRUST PP&E Disclosure
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
| (In thousands) | |||||||||||
| Operating facilities, at cost: | |||||||||||
| Beginning balance | $ | 5,706,760 | $ | 3,729,589 | |||||||
| Capital expenditures | 304,886 | 346,027 | |||||||||
| Acquisitions | 383,600 | 1,662,650 | |||||||||
| Purchase price allocation adjustments | (198,541) | — | |||||||||
| Disposition | (3,691) | (62,225) | |||||||||
| Impairment | (1,700) | (2,153) | |||||||||
| Conversion of leased assets to owned | — | 7,956 | |||||||||
| Impact of foreign exchange rate changes | (56,612) | 24,916 | |||||||||
| Ending balance | 6,134,702 | 5,706,760 | |||||||||
| Accumulated depreciation: | |||||||||||
| Beginning balance | (1,080,922) | (936,422) | |||||||||
| Depreciation expense | (201,497) | (146,237) | |||||||||
| Dispositions | 1,259 | 8,731 | |||||||||
| Impact of foreign exchange rate changes | 3,986 | (6,994) | |||||||||
| Ending balance | (1,277,174) | (1,080,922) | |||||||||
| Total real estate facilities | $ | 4,857,528 | $ | 4,625,838 | |||||||
| Non-real estate assets | 372,101 | 269,668 | |||||||||
| Total property, buildings and equipment and finance leases, net | $ | 5,229,629 | $ | 4,895,506 | |||||||
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.