Apple's cash hoard shrinks for the first time in seven quarters

Apple's enormous cash pile shrunk for the first time in seven quarters.

The Cupertino, California-based company said its cash pile shrunk to $231.5 billion in the fiscal third quarter, down $1.4 billion from the previous quarter.

If Apple's cash hoard was its own company, it would be the 11th largest company in the , according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

@hsilverb: $AAPL cash&equiv $231.5B would be the 11th largest issue in the index;shares declined 5.2%, boosting EPS 5.2% Y/Y via 10.2B in Q buybacks

The tech giant, however, reported earnings that beat Wall Street expectations on Tuesday as it sold more iPhones than expected.

The news follows investor concern over whether Apple can keep up the parade of hit devices that have floated the company's prosperity since the iPod rolled out 15 years ago.

The company's cash reserves have long fueled speculation of acquisitions that Apple might make. On Tuesday, the Apple Music division dropped a (comparatively tiny) dime on James Corden's viral "Carpool Karaoke."

—CNBC's Juan Aruego and Anita Balakrishnan contributed to this report.