As if talks about the US debt ceiling weren’t unnerving, one of the US’ most prominent tech companies revealed it has more cash in its reserves than the US Government.
More Money Than The US Government
As the debt crisis in the US comes more and more in to the media, the U.S. Treasury Department has revealed it has $73.768 billion of cash in its reserve – about $3 billion less than what Apple has currently.
Apple has been accumulating an impressive amount of cash since 2005 when the company only had a meager $9 billion on hand. Since then, Apple has added and impressive $66 billion in reserves.
What Apple Could Do With Its War Chest
Apple’s impressive amount of cash on hand gives it a lot of negotiating power . Just recently the Cupertino based company bought an impressive share in Nortel’s patent collection. While Apple partnered with Microsoft and Research in Motion for the deal, it’s being investigated by the DOJ for potential antitrust issues.
Multiple scenarios are possible with Apple’s large war chest of cash. Many investors have called for the company to buy back a significant amount of its shares but that doesn’t look too likely. Another possibility is Apple buying Lodsys completely and absorbing its impressive patent portfolio which has caused issues for developers who are being target by the firm.
Whatever Apple does with its stockpile of cash, it’s definitely in a good position to buy companies outright, invest in patents and lock in suppliers for its lineup of products.
