That's an interesting take, and one I hadn't heard before. However, I don't think you can explain it just with financing. The number is just too darn large. You could buy all the components they need for several years with that sum. There is also reason to have some cash on hand for strategic acquisitions, but they have way more than they could reasonably be expected to spend on other companies.
Best explanation I've seen so far is taxes. They repatriate that money to investors, and it's taxed at corporate rates, which are quite high. They - along with a number of other American companies - are waiting for a tax holiday or other favorable tax situation, at which point you might see a monster dividend or other mechanism for returning value to the investor.
Not when you factor in "off balance sheet" transactions.
They are helping suppliers to finance at least 4 factories over $2B US each we have heard about in public, and speculation indicates at least three others. That alone is $12B plus the approx 2x that for the first 6 months of the products those factories have to make for Apple. That is a large "float".
All of a sudden when you factor in a "world's largest" or whatever data center, and that is only Phase 1, on location one (NC), of three planned, as well as a new HQ and a rapid retail expansion, all of a sudden one calculates, do they even have enough money?
I have been waiting for the announcement that Apple has taken out a bank line for one thing or another (smokescreen).
Taking over (cough - dominating) the world's information infrastructure is expensive. You should consider rereading some of my older posts which only now a couple years later we see the results arriving in public.
They are NOT going to buy back stock, offer dividends, or do anything with cash but hoard it. They need the collateral. If they were going to do a stock buy back they would have done it during the crash. Anyone everywhere knew that was the time to buy stock.
Further do not discount the likelihood and damage of a debt crisis event, which is more likely than ever. Apple does not want to get sucked into it. They want to float above it like an angel powered by magic, boom, and insane greatness.
Rocketman
