The composition of property, plant and equipment, including finance lease assets, follows (in thousands):
 July 31,
  
20252024
Land and land improvements$804,667 $804,410 
Buildings and building improvements1,712,138 1,684,208 
Machinery and equipment2,117,865 1,987,458 
Furniture and fixtures349,921 318,974 
Software189,982 164,919 
Vehicles96,504 92,420 
Construction in progress114,357 106,016 
Gross property, plant and equipment5,385,434 5,158,405 
Accumulated depreciation(3,010,780)(2,739,875)
Property, plant and equipment, net$2,374,654 $2,418,530 

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.