When interest rates are so low (which encourages borrowing but discourages investment) and some people see a down market coming (which means having a big powder

When interest rates are so low (which encourages borrowing but discourages investment) and some people see a down market coming (which means having a big powder keg available to buy up competitors or whatever when the crash happens is a very valuable thing) I'm not surprised at all that large profitable companies are hording cash. People wonder why Apple isn't using it's cash to buy company X. It's b/c company X will be a much better buy if the economy tanks and takes most of company X with it. Same with saving money for investment. Apple has been known to loan $1B to partners to build plants for iPhone parts. In a crash when it's partners (and competitors) can't find investment dollars anywhere else, if Apple is able to invest then, all of a sudden they are in a fantastic position.