[MrHobbes]

I understand why you may be confused, because this was pretty poorly reported recently and I was not completely specific in my post.

Some Miscellaneous References:

http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:AAPL&fstype=ii

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=AAPL+Key+Statistics

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/07/19Apple-Reports-Thir...

Apple does not have 76 billion in cash. It has 76 billion in cash, cash-equivalents, and long-term marketable securities. There is a significant difference.

For clarification, please see here:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/258268-debunking-the-myths-o...

This post does not constitute investment advice.

[jmreid]

Thanks for the clarification. I've just never heard anyone be as specific about it as you, and I appreciate it. Almost everyone (non-financial sites and reports) considers it all "cash" and reports it as such.

[joshuamerrill]

Yes, the $76 billion includes $47.7 billion of long term investments, and possibly in there are the value of the supplier agreements that Apple is so famous for.

On the other hand... potato, po-tah-to?

While I'm acutely aware of the vast difference between $28 billion and $76 billion, can anyone name the largest acquisition Apple has ever completed?

More importantly, can anyone recall the amount?

Apple is one of the most acquisition-averse large companies I've ever seen. What they will do with $28 billion--let alone $76 billion--is beyond me.