Texas public finance
NTTA’s $96.2 million cash cushion after debt and capital
The headline 1.64-times coverage adds back maintenance the road still has to pay for. I’d judge NTTA by the cash left after debt and capital spending.
NTTA’s FY2025 System produced $96.2 million after operating cash paid debt service and capital purchases. I’d start there when judging capacity for additional renewal work, before using the more comfortable 1.64-times coverage headline. That ratio adds back maintenance expenses that the road still has to pay. FY2025 report, pages 23 and 31–32.
The report records $8.411 billion of bond principal and $8.854 billion including unamortized premiums. Operating cash of $1.0435 billion funded $718.0 million of principal and interest and $229.3 million of capital purchases. Other financing and investing flows explain the rest of the year’s cash movement.
Method & limits
North Texas Tollway System column, year ended December 31, 2025. The Non-System Fund is excluded. Financial statements are audited; the trust-basis coverage reconciliation in Note 2 and supplemental schedules is labeled unaudited. USD nominal. Checked October 26, 2026.
Principal plus premium equals $8.854 billion
At December 31, 2025, $8,410,516,903 + $443,662,024 = $8,854,178,927 of bonds payable. The $335.33 million current portion is already inside that total. Removing it leaves $8.519 billion classified beyond one year.
The Note 5 roll-forward adds $750.5 million and removes $1,236.6 million from the prior $9.340 billion carrying amount. Refunding and premium accounting make those movements different from cash borrowing and principal payments. Other liabilities, including subscriptions, sit outside these bond balances.
| Measure | USD millions | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Bond principal, including accreted balances | 8,410.5 | Claims before unamortized issuance premiums |
| Unamortized premium | 443.7 | Accounting amount carried above principal |
| Total bonds payable | 8,854.2 | Principal plus premium; includes the current portion |
| Due within one year | 335.3 | Part of total bonds payable, not another balance |
FY2025 ACFR Note 5, pages 37–38. Figures rounded to $0.1m; exact amounts in the downloadable reconciliation.
Maintenance add-backs help produce 1.64-times coverage
Note 2 starts with $880.227 million of operating income and adds depreciation, selected amortization, and capital- and reserve-maintenance fund expenses. Its $1,105.475 million numerator divided by $675.654 million of calculated debt service is 1.636, reported as 1.64 times.
Removing the $67.749 million reserve-maintenance add-back reduces an analytical ratio to 1.54 times. The repair bill survives the reported coverage calculation.
The unaudited reconciliation uses $340.679 million of interest expense and $334.975 million of scheduled principal. Cash payments were $372.352 million and $345.636 million. Timing and accounting explain why those denominators need their own labels.
| Step | USD millions |
|---|---|
| GAAP operating income | 880.227 |
| Add depreciation | 7.440 |
| Add selected amortization | 108.722 |
| Add capital/construction fund expenses | 41.336 |
| Add reserve-maintenance expenses | 67.749 |
| Net revenues available for debt service | 1,105.475 |
| Calculated debt service requirement | 675.654 |
| Reported all-debt coverage | 1.64× |
Note 2, page 32, marked unaudited. The capital and maintenance add-backs explain why this ratio does not measure spendable cash.
The operating screen leaves $96,187,973
$1,043,516,854 − $717,988,082 − $229,340,799 = $96,187,973. That screen precedes settlement receipts, refunding, defeasance, financing costs, and investment movements.
The full cash statement moves $28.089 million of opening cash to $46.826 million of closing cash. It also contains a $144.898 million settlement receipt, $54.984 million of deferred-financing-cost flows, $630.460 million of refunding proceeds, $698.470 million sent to escrow, $100 million of defeasance, and $128.211 million of net investment purchases. The calculator keeps those flows apart from the operating screen.
NTTA System · year ended December 31, 2025
The cash screen before other financing
Operating cash less actual principal, interest and capital purchases leaves $96.2m. Test an additional renewal bill without counting the existing expenses twice.
- Operating cash
- +$1,043.5m
- Principal and interest paid
- −$718.0m
- Capital purchases
- −$229.3m
Remaining screen before settlement, refunding, defeasance and investing flows.
Reconcile to the actual $46.8m closing cash
| Statement line | Signed USD millions |
|---|---|
| Opening cash | $28.1m |
| Net operating cash | +$1,043.5m |
| Acquisition and construction of capital assets | −$229.3m |
| Legal settlement proceeds | +$144.9m |
| New refunding bonds | +$630.5m |
| Paid to refunding escrow | −$698.5m |
| Cash defeasance | −$100.0m |
| Build America Bonds subsidy | +$18.9m |
| Principal paid | −$345.6m |
| Deferred financing costs | +$55.0m |
| Interest paid | −$372.4m |
| Net investing cash | −$128.2m |
| Closing cash | $46.8m |
Audited cash-flow statement p23, System column only. Dollar-exact rows are in the CSV. This is a complete reconciliation, not a claim that closing cash is unrestricted.
The renewal control is an analytical addition to FY2025 spending, not a new NTTA budget or covenant forecast. The underlying reported cash lines stay fixed.
Renewal spending crosses several funds
Current maintenance runs through operating payments. The Reserve Maintenance Fund pays nonannual renewal and major repairs, while the Capital Improvement Fund covers reconstruction, extensions, additions, and replacement. Note 1 and trust Sections 505–510 define the uses.
Because the $229.3 million capital line combines acquisition and construction, and the operating-cash figure already includes payments to employees and suppliers, a renewal stress has to add work beyond the reported year instead of calling all capital “maintenance” or subtracting the same repairs twice. The extra bill needs its own line.
The rate requirements are 1.35 times first-tier debt service, 1.20 times first- and second-tier service, and 1.00 times all secured obligations, using the greatest requirement. The Note 2 definitions determine each legal test.
Another $100 million of renewal exhausts the screen
An extra $50 million of renewal leaves $46.2 million. An extra $100 million leaves −$3.8 million, holding the other FY2025 inputs fixed. That sensitivity shows how fast a positive balance can disappear. It doesn’t describe an approved project or unrestricted funds.
The bond waterfall, HCTRA transfer study, and ownership hub extend the comparison. I’d judge NTTA’s next capital commitment against cash, legal fund availability, and the renewal calendar together. The 1.64-times headline is a creditor test, while the next repair needs money.
Sources
- NTTA: FY2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report
System column: cash flows p23; fund definitions pp26–27; coverage pp31–32; debt pp37–38. The coverage reconciliation and supplemental schedules are marked unaudited.
- NTTA: Amended and Restated Trust Agreement, April 1, 2008
Sections 501 and 503–510; consult applicable supplements and the current offering documents for a particular security.
- NTTA: Series 2025 A/B Official Statement
Primary offering document; describes pledged revenues, tiers and issuer obligations.
Supporting material
- NTTA FY2025 exact cash and debt reconciliation (CSV) ↗Reported lines, signed cash amounts, basis and source pages. System column only.