Apple's cash stash leads U.S. record $1.24 trillion

Dallas Business Journal
Date: Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 1:49pm CDT

The cash amassed by Apple was so big that Moody's Investors Service excluded the company from some parts of a just-released annual report on corporate finance.

The cash amassed by Apple Inc. was so big that Moody's Investors Service excluded the company from some parts of a just-released annual report on corporate finance.

Taking out the nearly $100 billion in cash and equivalents that Apple had at the end of 2012, the cash figure for all U.S. companies was relatively unchanged at $1.15 trillion, the firm reported.

But with Apple leading the way, the amount of cash held by U.S. corporations hit a record $1.24 trillion, about 57 percent of it in overseas accounts to avoid paying taxes that would be owed if it was repatriated.

The record amount of cash came even though many companies increased capital expenditures, dividend payments, share buybacks and acquisition spending last year, the report shows.

In addition to record amounts of cash, non-financial companies covered by the report also posted record revenue of $10.4 trillion and cash flow from operations of $1.3 trillion.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has come under increased pressure to issue a dividend or buy back some of its shares, something CEO Tim Cook has said is being considered but which it hasn't indicated if or when either will actually happen.

"Treasurers have distinct memories of capital markets closing very quickly, and I think companies in general are more focused on controlling their fate from a funding standpoint and part of that means being able to internally fund your investment needs," Moody's analyst Richard Lane told Bloomberg. ...

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Apple's cash stash leads U.S. record $1.24 trillion - Dallas Business Journal