US corporations’ cash pile has receded from a record high, according to a report from Moody’s Investors Service, as companies put more of their dollars to use in the wake of tax cuts championed by President Donald Trump.

Moody’s said Monday the 928 non-financial companies that it rates held $1.69tn in cash and liquid investments as of December 2018, a 15.2 per cent drop from an all-time high of $1.99tn a year earlier.

Spending on capital investments, dividends, share buybacks and acquisitions each set record highs in the year following the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which included measures that lowered the corporate tax rate and reduced the tax hit on earnings repatriated from foreign subsidiaries.

Moody’s said it expects cash balances will continue to shrink, saying improved access to global cash following the tax overhaul will encourage cash-rich companies to repay maturing debt and return more cash to shareholders.

In 2018, capital expenditures consumed the largest portion of cash flow, rising 12 per cent to hit a record $851bn. Dividends were up 6.7 per cent to $412bn, net share buybacks nearly doubled to $467bn and acquisition spending grew 14 per cent to $405bn — all new highs.

“With improved access to global cash following the tax overhaul, we expect aggregate cash balances will continue on a declining path, particularly as many cash-rich companies repay maturing debt and return more cash to shareholders,” Richard Lane, senior vice-president at Moody’s, wrote in the report.

The drop in cash holdings last year also coincided with strong global economic growth for most of 2018. Moody’s-rated non-financial companies booked revenue of $11.9tn, up 9.5 per cent year-over-year, a healthier pace than the 8 per cent growth seen in the prior year. Aggregate cash flow from operations jumped $224bn to $1.77tn, marking the largest increase in a decade.

Moody’s warned that “economic activity has decelerated from rapid growth in the first half of 2018”, adding that “elevated trade tensions have exacerbated the cautionary stance on business investment that will weaken business conditions in 2019”.

However, spending on capital investments, dividends, acquisitions and share buybacks will rise to a total of $2.3tn this year from $2.14tn in 2018, according to Moody’s forecast.

Heavyweights of the technology industry continued to lead the rankings of cash-rich companies. Apple led the pack with $245bn on hand, followed by Microsoft at $127.9bn. Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook rounded out the top five.

Biotechnology and healthcare groups, including Gilead Sciences and Medtronic, and automakers Ford and General Motors were also high on the list, with each company closing the year among the 15 largest holders of cash. After the tech sector, the industries with the largest cash piles were healthcare/pharmaceutical, retail, manufacturing and energy.

Apple alone held 14.5 per cent of the total non-financial corporate cash balance. The iPhone maker’s cash balance was greater than the aggregate amount for every US industry sector, excluding technology.

Together, the top five companies had $564bn in cash. That amounted to 33 per cent of the total non-financial corporate cash balance, down from 34 per cent in 2017, Moody’s said.