[kondro]

LOL… Apple does NOT pay 4% on its debt. It's effective combined interest is 2.38%.

In my naive back-of-the-envelope calculations, it would have to hold this debt in a non-tax-effective way for more than a decade to be worse off with this debt versus repatriation. An in the meantime it can use the interest it pays in the USA to offset it's US tax bill for income earned in the USA making this effectively a lot longer.

The long-term average for the S&P500 is 12.11%… not to mention the fact that Apple can probably make better use of its money by investing in itself, rather than passively on the stock market.

All round, no matter your actual moral and ethical opinions on the matter, this is the smartest financial decision Apple can make (and they probably spend tens of millions a year on advice, legals and research to prove this).

And as much as Apple goes on about them being a California company… they're mostly a multi-national with much of their money being earned and spent outside of the USA.

[ryandrake]

Right--I was just responding to the parent's post to the grandparent's comparison to personal debt.