[jcampbell1]

I am also an apple investor. If they have $50B of cash they have no use for, then they are forcing me to be invested in government bonds. I'd rather have the money myself, and invest it in something that gets better than a .5% annual return. Using the dividend to buy more Apple stock would be better than the current situation.

[masklinn]

> If they have $50B of cash they have no use for

Not the case and not what was stated.

They don't need those for immediate ops right now, but having tens of billions readily available is a great chip when discussing deal with manufacturers. It means you're able to put billions on the table upfront at a financial moment's notice. Apple's billions in the bank are a major asset in their negotiations.

[jcampbell1]

We can bicker about the amount, but the meaning of "more than we need to run the company", means there is some that is of no use to the company.

I perfectly agree that Apple should keep a massive cash horde to fund future investment.

[roc]

I think it might be stretching to say that Apple has no use for that cash. That they have no immediate plans is hardly the same thing.

[jcampbell1]

I wasn't stretching anything. Tim Cook said Apple has "more than we need to run the company." Running the company requires having cash for immediate, future, foreseeable and non-foreseeable events. "More than we need" means there is some that there is no need, or "no use".

[roc]

I didn't consider that statement to be inclusive of cash for non-foreseeable events. I guess that's where we disagree.

[easp]

They aren't forcing you to hold their stock.