Tech Companies Top List of Cash Hoarders
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| October 2, 2013
Tech is where it is at…A Moody’s Investor Services report found that the tech sector dominates the top 50 cash-rich companies. Just look at the list of top 5 cash companies: Apple, Microsoft, Google, Cisco and Pfizer. These 5 hold $379bln, or 26% of the total non-financial corporate balance of companies rated by Moody’s.
And when it comes to cash hoarding, Moody’s says the tech sector has the largest stockpile among industries at $515bln. Healthcare/pharmaceuticals is a distant second, with $146bln. That pile of cash is partly why the TV industry is anxiously eyeing what these companies plan on doing next. At CableFAX’s recent TV Innovation Summit, Rogers Venture Partners general Partner Mike Lee made a bold prediction. “Between Google, Twitter, Facebook, Apple—TV is in the crosshairs. They are certainly going to be participants, maybe not distributors or suppliers, but they are part of the experience for the lifestyle of the consumer,” Lee said.” I’d probably include Microsoft in that as well.” Even if it’s not a virtual MSO service, it is clear that these companies have the pockets to make waves in the TV space.
Apple is #1 on the list of cash-rich companies, with $147bln of cash accounts for 9.9% of total non-financial corporate cash. It’s followed by Microsoft ($77bln), Google ($54.4bln) and Cisco ($50.6bln). There are plenty of other tech firms on the list, including Oracle, Qualcomm, Intel and Accenture. Media players on Moody’s list of top 50 cash-rich companies include DISH (#26 with $9.5bln), Twenty-First Century Fox (#33, $6.7bln) and Comcast (#45, $5.2bln).