as some have pointed out to me over the years, market caps, do not include all private equity. some of these companies might have private equity that is not in

as some have pointed out to me over the years, market caps, do not include all private equity. some of these companies might have private equity that is not included in the public stock price. secondly, when a company with a solid stock price buys a company they don't need to do it for cash, they can do it with stock and conserve cash. some will even debt finance. 3rd, on a 5 year basis, apple has a net of $4-5 billion a qtr or $20 billion a year, so they could probably safely debt finance $100+ billion at 3% or 4%.