Want to go deeper on real companies with simple, long-term investing guidance? Subscribe to the Investing for Beginners newsletter, where Dave and Andrew share stock ideas, valuations, and lessons from real businesses straight to your inbox.

In this episode, Dave and Andrew continue their Financials Demystified series by breaking down long‑term assets on the balance sheet and why they matter so much for long‑term investors.

They walk through real companies to show how different business models leave different “fingerprints” on the balance sheet. Martin Marietta Materials illustrates a classic capital‑intensive business, with huge investments in machinery, equipment, and mineral reserves.

NVIDIA shows the opposite: a capital‑light designer that outsources manufacturing to TSMC, runs with massive current assets, and converts that into high margins and free cash flow.

The guys also dig into Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and others to explain goodwill, equity investments, reverse acqui‑hires, operating lease assets, and how all of these choices flow through to reported earnings and risk.

Key Topics Covered:

What long‑term assets are and how they differ from current assets
How property, plant, and equipment (PP&E) works in capital‑intensive businesses
Goodwill and equity investments at Amazon and Alphabet (Rivian, Anthropic, Character.ai
Deferred tax assets, intangibles, and “other long‑term assets” on the balance sheet
Operating lease assets and what they reveal about owning vs. renting locations