In $76 billion is a whole lot of money. Apple has it. The question that analysts and investors are asking is what does the company plan to do with all this money? Some investors have been saying that if good investment opportunities are not forthcoming, the company should be returning the money to investors, in form of mega-dividends. But Apple has other ideas.
Last October the Apple CEO, Steve Jobs had outlined the companys long lasting policy when he said, We strongly believe that one or more very strategic opportunities may come along that we can take that we're in a unique position to take advantage of because of our strong cash position.
Other technology companies have also been piling up cash over the years, but their hoards are nowhere close to Apple. For Instance, Microsoft has built up cash levels of $60.9 billion, including equity and others investments. The search giant, Google, has $39.1 billion. Cisco Systems holds $43.4 billion.
The data released by the ratings agency Standard & Poors, shows that the total cash and cash equivalents for the 500 largest U.S. companies by market capitalization was $963 billion at the end of the first quarter, up from $837 billion a year ago. Tech companies carry large sums in their books because trends can shift quickly in this field, and this necessitates a bigger safety net.
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