[gwd]

GP said "leveraged and didn't have cash stockpiles". Your example of Apple may fit the first criteria, but not the second.

And this is exactly why you should have a cash stockpile, either as a company or an individual: You can never tell when a random event will completely wipe out your earnings for 6 months.

I'm no corporate financier, but I've certainly heard arguments in favor of borrowing money during times of low interest rates in order to have a cash stockpile. But borrowing to do stock bybacks when you don't have a stockpile is just skating further out onto thinner and thinner ice.

[cat199]

> But borrowing to do stock bybacks when you don't have a stockpile is just skating further out onto thinner and thinner ice.

this also partly depends on your expectation on the availability to resell the stocks later on if desired

[SilasX]

If you're creating the cash buffer as a way to stay afloat during hard times, that's a bad strategy, since the market for shares (including yours) will be weak precisely when you need the cash.

[alexpetralia]

Yes, I agree with you. I am sure shareholders saw piles of cash and demanded: "better in our pocket than yours." (Carl Icahn famously tried this with Apple.)