My column this week, “Apple’s Deep Pockets: What $159 Billion Could Do,” asked how Apple should spend all the cash the company has sitting in the bank, and the topic generated a pretty boisterous response from readers. People suggested building an Apple television, paying more taxes and even curing cancer.
And they were just getting warmed up.
Several readers suggested that Apple buy a media company. Mo from Los Angeles said the company should have purchased Time Warner, giving Apple a treasure trove of movies and television shows that could be distributed on the Apple TV, iPad and elsewhere.
Another reader said Apple could buy Comcast, also for the content. “For today’s market cap of $127.3 billion, they could own the largest cable TV provider, a broadband provider, a TV network and a movie studio,” wrote a reader from Chicago.
Gary Tsarsis, a visiting professor of finance at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, said that there are similarities between Apple and Disney, both of which are seeking to expand the distribution of content, and the two companies should explore merging.
“If the inherent interest of the corporation is to maximize shareholder value, then for Apple, they should be using the vast amount of cash that they have on their balance sheet for profit-seeking opportunities,” Mr. Tsarsis said in an email. “The money, at best, is getting minimal interest in the Netherlands, Ireland, etc. and becomes a drag on growth when not being used.”
But perhaps the most vociferous response came from people who said Apple should pay more taxes. The company has been criticized in recent years for sidestepping taxes.
“There are two things Apple could do with its $159 billion: Actually pay its fair share of U.S. corporate taxes instead of hiding or moving its money around,” one reader wrote.
Another echoed the same sentiment: “How about they pay some of the taxes they owe?”
Some readers said that Apple and other tech giants with huge cash reserves should do more to help social causes.
“I have no doubt that Google, Apple and Microsoft employ some of the best and the brightest people that money can hire,” wrote a reader from New York City. “Why not divert some of that talent and some of that excess cash in a joint effort to find a cure for cancer?”
Other suggestions included paying for college education for thousands of students, hiring teachers and funding science research.
And finally, one reader suggested betting big on Bitcoin, the crypto-currency. “Apple should buy Bitcoin and establish itself as the world’s largest Bitcoin bank and payment processor,” the reader said.