Apples Low Returns

Apple has once again rewarded it’s shareholders amply,  its share price surged to new highs – above $US500 – last week. There is, though, one part of the iPhone behemoths’s business that isn’t exactly humming along. Apple’s management of it’s pile of cash, now exceeding $US100 billion, has historically been extremely unimaginative. Investors are bombarded with offers from banks, offering yields of as much as 1 percent – as high as 1.5% for 2 years fixed –  Apple may be settling for less for its cash stash.

Apple’s war chest has grown steadily since 2005, when it had just $9 billion in reserves. As as the end of 2010, Apple’s $60 billion stockpile gave it more cash than any other non-financial company in the U.S. Amusingly-  mid 2011 - Appleinsider reported that Apples the $76 Billion in cash outweighed the U.S. governments $US73 billion in total operating cash. Comparisons with fellow hoarders in the tech-world – Google and Microsoft  - indicate that in this area at least, the most valuable publicly traded American company is probably under-performing. Read the full article »»»»