Over the last several years, Apple Inc (AAPL ) has faced significant scrutiny over the company’s massive cash pile. In fact, the company’s cash file is equal to nearly 10% of all corporate cash. In its fiscal 2013 annual report, Apple’s cash and cash equivalents amounted to a staggering $155,239,000,000. And though the company reinstated its dividend in 2012, many still wonder how exactly the company plans to use its excess cash.
As the largest company in the world by market cap and with a global reach that spans across dozens of countries, it’s no wonder that investors can’t get enough information about Apple. Earnings days in particular are active for AAPL, as it has been known to move quite swiftly in reaction to the quarterly report. Below are 10 charts that put Apple’s cash and earnings in perspective.
What Makes Up AAPL’s Cash Holdings?
According to its annual statement, Apple’s total cash and cash equivalents is primarily made up of corporate securities, which total nearly $85 billion. Combined, U.S. Treasury and U.S. Agency securities held by Apple amount to roughly $30 billion. At the end of Apple’s fiscal 2013, the company held $10 billion in cold hard cash.
What Could AAPL’s Cash Buy on Wall Street?
With its cash pile, Apple could buy Boeing (BA), whose market cap comes in at about $93 billion. The tech giant could also purchase these three stocks with its cash: Alcoa (AA ), Twitter (TWTR) and Macy’s (M ).
See More: What Can You Buy With Apple’s Cash?
AAPL’s Cash vs. Its Biggest Competitors
Apple’s cash currently amounts to roughly 30% of its market capitalization; compare that to Google (GOOG), whose cash represents only about 14% of its market value. Microsoft (MSFT ), however, has over $77 billion in cash and cash equivalents, which is nearly a quarter of the company’s market cap.
Apple's "Biggest" Acquisitions
Throughout its history, Apple’s largest acquisition was Beats Music for about $3 billion in 2014. The company’s next largest acquisition is NeXT Inc, which was bought for $404 million in 1997. NeXt was co-founded by Steve Jobs after he was ousted from Apple in 1988. Apple’s third biggest acquisition came in 2013, when the company bought PrimeSense for $345 million.
See Apple's Cash Pile Grow
Since Q1 of 2011 to Q1 2014, Apple’s cash has grown from $59 billion to over $158 billion, marking a more than 160% increase in three years. To put things further into perspective, Apple’s dividend payouts have amounted to roughly $2.7 billion each quarter – less than 2% of the company’s cash pile.
The 10-Q Language
Digging through Apple’s 10-Q statement, the language used in the report can be a telling sign of some aspects the company is heavily focused on, and others that are not as important. The following chart shows the number of times some key words were mentioned in the report with some surprising results.
Cash Balance
Apple’s massive cash pile has been a point of interest for years now, as it seems that the figure only continues to grow. The chart below show’s Apple’s balance over the past few years.
Apple’s Dividend
Apple first began paying a dividend in 2012 and the company has been quick to make payout boosts and raise its share repurchase program. The following chart displays the dividends and stock repurchases from 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Earnings Reaction
Of course, the reaction of AAPL to an earnings report is among the most volatile times of the year for the stock. Since AAPL always reports after the closing bell has rung, we gathered the stock’s performance for the day after reporting (first trading day reacting to the news) for the last 10 earnings releases.
See Also: How Does Apple Stock React to Product Releases?.
Though Apple had developed something of a reputation for beating earnings, that began to fade over the last two years as big misses and big wins became a part of the equation.
The Product Side
The growth and decline in sales for AAPL’s flagship products has been a major talking point over the years. Though the iPod used to dominate each quarter, the iPhone and iPad have taken over the growth picture and have caught on with users. Below are the annual product sales since 2006.
The Bottom Line
With so much excess cash on the books, it is no wonder why many speculate how Apple plans to use this money. And even after initiating a dividend, investors have not been entirely satisfied with a less than 3% yield. As Apple continues to accumulate cash, investors will have to wait and see if it will begin to put the money to good use by increasing its dividend, buying back shares, acquiring new companies, or growing organically by reinvesting in itself.
For more information, be sure to check out The Complete History of Apple.
