How do you distinguish maintenance capex from growth capex?

investments that preserve the existing asset base — replacing worn-out machinery, renovations, software updates. Keeps the business at steady state, generates NO organic growth. Growth capex: investments that expand capacity / reach — new plants, new lines, new geographies. Drives future growth. Rules of thumb for estimation:

• Maintenance capex ≈ D&A (long-run steady state — replacement matches depreciation). At steady-state operators (middle-market industrials), maintenance capex is 80–110% of D&A.
• Growth capex = total capex − maintenance capex.
• At young / growing companies: capex >> D&A → most of it is growth. At mature companies: capex ≈ D&A → mostly maintenance. Valuation implication: a DCF forecast should set long-term capex ≈ D&A (steady state), otherwise it implicitly assumes growth capex in perpetuity — which systematically overstates the valuation.