From CNN Money:
The maker of iEverything had $246.1 billion in cash and investments on its balance sheet as of the end of its most recent quarter, up nearly $10 billion from the end of September."Put this money to work" is a matter of definition if the 2004 tax holiday is anything to go by.
That's a new record for non-financial companies. (Banks tend to have a lot more cash than most other companies for operational purposes.)
To put this into context, if Apple's cash were a separate company, it would be the 13th most valuable in the S&P 500. Apple is the most valuable, of course. The remaining dozen are Google-parent Alphabet, Microsoft, Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, Amazon, Facebook, ExxonMobil, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, GE and AT&T.
Apple's cash pile is bigger than the market values of Procter & Gamble (PG), Bank of America (BAC), Chevron (CVX) and Walmart (WMT).
And if President Trump and congressional leaders get their way, Apple (AAPL, Tech30) and other cash hoarders may soon be able to put this money to work in the United States instead of having it sitting in foreign bank accounts collecting interest -- not to mention dust.
Apple CFO Luca Maestri said during the company's conference call with analysts on Tuesday that $230.2 billion of its cash -- 94% of it -- was being held overseas....MORE
AppleInsider says Apple is already making the pitch:
Tim Cook: Repatriation of $231B in overseas cash would be 'very good for the country and good for Apple'
