theMacObserver started a pretty interesting analysis starting from an Apple cash news.
As Wall Street Journal reported:
Apple Inc. has built up a $76.2 billion cash hoard. Now the question is what the company intends to do with the money pile.
MacObserver’s Bryan Chaffin reports that “Apple’s Cash Hoard Exceeds GDP of 128 Countries“.
Recently, the Cupertino, Calif., company disclosed cash, including short-term and long-term marketable securities, for the quarter ended June 25 increased 15.8% since March to $76.2 billion.
That’s more than the gross domestic product of 126 countries, including nations such as Ecuador, Bulgaria, Sri Lanka and Costa Rica, according to data from the World Bank.
Another data point to consider is that Apple’s profits of $7.31 billion from just the June quarter of 2011 would rank it at #60 in the 2009 data, while its profits from the last four quarters would rank at #90. In fact, Apple’s cash hoard is larger than the GDP of the bottom 45 countries COMBINED.
In other words, Apple has a lot of money, which was the point of The Journal’s piece. The company has already been under intense pressure from some quarters to give some of that money back to shareholders. Apple’s long-standing position has been that having so much money lying around allows the company enormous flexibility and power.
Some called this analysis and comparison unappropriate, I don’t agree: it’s a good starting point to understand and measure today’s economy (and have some hint at beloved Apple too!)
[Via MacObserver]
