I think you are painting with strokes that are too broad. First, and most seriously, I think your assessments of dividends is pretty horrible. Dividends aren't

I think you are painting with strokes that are too broad. First, and most seriously, I think your assessments of dividends is pretty horrible. Dividends aren't only a good way for a company to return value to investors (which a public company is legally obligated to do), it's frequently one of the most tax-friendly ways. Secondly, you need to consider that Apple's two biggest competitors, Microsoft and Google hold large cash reserves also. It would potentially be catastrophic to has significantly less cash on hand than either. Essentially, all three companies are forcing each other to hold cash on hand. Finally, there's a limit to how fast a company can grow, and there's a limit to what cash on hand says about a company when that company is doing quite well. Looking at a number on a balance sheet and saying "that's not going to work", when the company is turning over profits, inventing new markets, and has comparatively killer margins is wrong.