Young Research & Publishing Inc.

Investment Research Since 1978

Compensation was paid to utilize rankings. Click here to read full disclosure.

  • About Us
    • Contributors
    • Archives
    • Dick Young’s Safe America
    • The Final Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report
    • You’ve Read The Last Issue of Intelligence Report, Now What?
    • Dick Young’s Research Key: Anecdotal Evidence Gathering
    • Crisis at Vanguard
  • Investment Analysis
    • Bonds
    • Currencies and Gold
    • Dividend Investing
    • ETFs & Funds
    • Investment Strategy
    • Retirement Investing
    • Stocks
    • The Efficient Frontier
  • Investment Counsel
  • Retirement Compounders®
  • Free Email Signup

Apple Owns More Corporate Bonds than the Biggest Funds Own

May 4, 2017 By Jeremy Jones, CFA

Apple has hordes of cash overseas. CEO Tim Cook says he won’t bring the cash back until better tax rates are available. In the meantime, Apple has amassed a pile of corporate debt holdings larger than the top bond funds. Bloomberg’s Claire Boston reports:

If Apple Inc. were a bond fund, it would dwarf the competition.

The iPhone-maker has $148 billion of its record $257 billion cash pile invested in corporate debt alone, according to a company filing from Wednesday. That’s enough to buy all the assets in the world’s largest fixed-income mutual fund, the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund, which has about $145 billion of assets including company, government and mortgage bonds.

Like many technology companies, Apple has resisted transferring the money it earns abroad back to the U.S. to avoid triggering corporate income taxes on the earnings. Instead, the Cupertino, California-based company invests in corporate bonds and other assets like money market funds and U.S. Treasuries.

With more than 90 percent of its war chest abroad, the company regularly issues bonds of its own to help fund programs like share buybacks and capital spending. Apple said Thursday it’s selling debt in as many as six parts to support a 63-cent dividend and an increased stock-repurchase program.

Apple and other cash-rich companies are holding out, hoping that they may soon be able to bring their cash home at a lower tax rate. President Donald Trump’s tax plan includes a repatriation provision, though it didn’t specify a rate. He proposed a 10 percent levy when campaigning, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has said the rate would be “very competitive.”

Apple’s holdings, managed by its Braeburn Capital Inc. unit in Reno, Nevada, may be large enough to move markets if the company makes any big shifts in its allocations. Apple has typically favored safer, shorter-dated bonds from high-rated financial issuers and other companies.

Read more here.

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

You Might Also Like:

  • Junk Bonds Get Trashed
  • Indexing’s Biggest Failure
  • Highest Corporate Bond Yields in Five Years
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Jeremy Jones, CFA
Jeremy Jones, CFA, CFP® is the Director of Research at Young Research & Publishing Inc., and the Chief Investment Officer at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. CNBC has ranked Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. as one of the Top 100 Financial Advisors in the nation (2019-2022) Disclosure. Jeremy is also a contributing editor of youngresearch.com.
Latest posts by Jeremy Jones, CFA (see all)
  • Money Market Assets Hit Record High: $5.4 Trillion - May 26, 2023
  • The Mania in AI Stocks Has Arrived - May 25, 2023
  • The Wisdom of Sam Zell - May 24, 2023

Search Young Research

Most Popular

  • Wellington and Wellesley Funds Not Managed by Vanguard
  • The Single Worst Market Timing Event in History
  • “No Way I’m Spending That Much on Those”
  • Should America Move Closer to the Saudis, or Push them Away?
  • The War Machine's Manpower Problem
  • The Power of a Compound Interest Table
  • Will the Fed Hold Up Its End of the Bargain?
  • “You Didn’t Eat That Again, Did You?”
  • Vanguard Wellesley (VWINX) vs. Wellington (VWELX): Which Fund is Best?
  • Profits Becoming Elusive in China

Don’t Miss

Default Risk Among the Many Concerns with Annuities

Risk and Reward: An Efficient Frontier

How to be a Billionaire: Proven Strategies from the Titans of Wealth

Cryptocosm and Life After Google

Warning: Avoid Mutual Fund Year End Distributions

Is Gold a Good Long-term Investment?

How to Invest in Gold

Vanguard Wellington (VWELX): The Original Balanced Fund

What is the Best Gold ETF for Investing and Trading?

Procter & Gamble (PG) Stock: The Only True Dividend King

The Dividend King of the North

You’ll Love This if You’re Dreaming of an Active Retirement Life

The Importance of a Balanced Portfolio

Invest with Peace of Mind and Comfort

What Kind of Life Are You Investing For?

RSS The Latest at Richardcyoung.com

  • The Elephant in the Room
  • “Then One Day the Grandfather was Gone”
  • My Key West Garden Office
  • OPERATION MOCKINGBIRD: The Truth About the CIA?
  • Does a New Antiviral Covid Drug Do More Harm than Good?
  • The Biden Regime Treats Americans Worse than Illegal Immigrants
  • Key West #1 Wine Shop & Wine Expert
  • California – First to Enact Statewide Gun and Ammo Tax
  • “No Way I’m Spending That Much on Those”
  • How Much Can Grid Battery Storage Help?

RSS The Latest at Yoursurvivalguy.com

  • “Then One Day the Grandfather was Gone”
  • How Joe Biden Raised Oil Prices
  • Is the Philadelphia Looting Spree the Wake-up Call America Needs?
  • “No Way I’m Spending That Much on Those”
  • What Trade Policy Serves America’s National Interest Best?
  • California Wants to Make the 2nd Amendment Unaffordable
  • “You Didn’t Eat That Again, Did You?”
  • Is McCarthy Up to the Task?
  • Rising Costs Are Hammering Commercial Real Estate
  • Your Survival Guy Fishing with Dolphins

About Us

  • About Young Research
  • Archives
  • Contributors

Our Partners

  • Richard C. Young & Co.
  • Richardcyoung.com

Copyright © 2023 | Terms & Conditions

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.