For Apple, a $76 Billion Dilemma
Apple Inc. has built up a $76.2 billion cash hoard. Now the question is what the company intends to do with the money pile.
On Tuesday, the Cupertino, Calif., company disclosed cash, including short-term and long-term marketable securities, for the quarter ended June 25 increased 15.8 percent since March to $76.2 billion. That’s more than the gross domestic product of 126 countries, including nations such as Ecuador, Bulgaria, Sri Lanka and Costa Rica, according to data from the World Bank.
The gigantic sum on Wednesday prompted some investors to call for it to use some of the cash for dividend payouts. “If they can’t find ways to use it to grow, they should be returning it to shareholders,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management, which owns Apple stock.
