During today’s fourth fiscal quarterly earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook addressed the massive pile of cash that Apple has in the bank. As it turns out, about two-thirds of Apple’s available cash is currently held overseas.
Apple is known for being incredible conservative when it comes to spending. The company very rarely makes high-profile buyouts, and internal operations are streamlined for efficiency. Holding money offshore allows Apple to defer taxes until the money is brought back to the United States.
As MacRumors points out, on September 24, 2011 Apple had $81.57 billion to its name. Since then, it’s estimated that Apple has added $5.4 billion.
When asked about Apple’s growing pile of funds, Tim Cook said, “I am not religious about holding it or not holding it. I’m religious about a lot of things, but not that.” Cook said that, “we’ve acquired companies, acquired IP, invested in the supply chain and invested in our stores.”
Rumors come up every now and then that Apple is considering a major acquisition, such as the Hulu deal that was rumored to take place this past summer. Most of Apple’s acquisitions stay undisclosed to the public. It’s been rumored that Apple paid between $150-$200 million for Siri, the company that originally developed the latest voice technology in the iPhone 4S.
Theoretical analysis says that Apple has more cash on hand than the U.S. government. The company has also traded past ExxonMobil in the past to become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.
By keeping the majority of its funds stored overseas, Apple saves money on taxes in the United States and sets itself up for continued growth in international markets, like China.
