Apple has more cash than U.S. government
In other Apple news, maybe it's not so difficult to see why Apple is the leading global smartphone vendor. After all, new reports show that Apple has more cash on hand than the United States government.
Based on Apple's last quarterly earnings report on July 19, the Cupertino, Calif.-based enterprise had $76.156 billion in cash and marketable securities as of June 25. The Atlantic poses the idea that said amount could be "enough to buy Goldman Sachs or Facebook."
It could certainly buy up some small countries around the world...but the United States, perhaps?
In contrast to Apple, the United States government reportedly only has a paltry $73.768 billion in cash reserves. The lesson to be learned, according to Fortune?
Since Apple takes in more money than it spends and the U.S. government does the opposite, the company by now has considerably more cash on hand than Uncle Sam.
Nevertheless, The Financial Post points out that the figures aren't "directly comparable."
The government’s number represents how much financial headroom it has before bumping up against an arbitrary debt ceiling, while Apple’s cash reserve represents the pile of money the Cupertino, California-based company has available on its balance sheet.
So should our nation's leaders be turning to Steve Jobs and friends for advice (or some money) right now? It's either that, or we actually send in the cavalry of eighth grade teachers at this point.
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