Article
Stocks with the Most Fallback Cash
Author(s):
For some investors, cash will always be king and they feel safest investing in companies with generous fallback cash reserves. These 10 companies had the most cash at the end of 2012.
For some investors, cash will always be king and they feel safest investing in companies with large piles of money.
Investing in stocks with a fallback cash reserve can be a safe strategy. If the economy goes south, these companies have a cushion. And if the economy really takes off, then these businesses can put their money to very good use, Shirley Mueller, MD, explained in an earlier column.
Some ways that companies can deploy their cash reserves, according to Kiplinger, include:
1. Pay or boost dividends
2. Buy back shares
3. Buy other companies
4. Pay down debt
5. Invest internally
6. Save for a rainy day
However, investors shouldn’t only pay attention to cash reserves, because it won’t matter how much money these companies are sitting on if they lose their passion to develop exciting new products, if they suddenly have poor management take over, or if they have a large debt burden.
One thing that is interesting to note is the cash reserves of the number three and number one stocks on the below list. The company with the most cash has almost three times as much as the third-ranked company. And yet, the stock price for third place is almost twice that of the company at the top of the list.
While two health care companies made it into the top 10, there were that didn’t, but still landed in the top 25: Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Abbott Laboratories and Eli Lilly and Company.
10. Ford Motor
Copyright NBCNews.com
Symbol: F
Industry: Automotive
Total Cash: $22.9 billion
Last closing price: $15.88
52-week range: $8.82 - $16.08
Total debt: $107.6 billion
9. Amgen
Symbol: AMGN
Industry: Health care
Total Cash: $24.1 billion
Last closing price: $99.13
52-week range: $67.64 - $114.95
Total debt: $23.89 billion
8. General Motors
GMFleet.com
Symbol: GM
Industry: Automotive
Total Cash: $27.4 billion
Last closing price: $34.41
52-week range: $18.72 - $34.91
Total debt: $18.42 billion
7. Qualcomm
Copyright Realwire Limited
Symbol: QCOM
Industry: Technology
Total Cash: $28.4 billion
Last closing price: $63.22
52-week range: $53.09 - $68.50
Total debt: $22 million
6. Oracle
CNET.com
Symbol: ORCL
Industry: Technology
Total Cash: $33.7 billion
Last closing price: $34.39
52-week range: $25.84 - $36.43
Total debt: $19.75 billion
5. Cisco Systems
Wired.com
Symbol: CSCO
Industry: Technology
Total Cash: $46.4 billion
Last closing price: $24.38
52-week range: $14.96 - $24.68
Total debt: $16.25 billion
4. Pfizer
Business Week
Symbol: PFE
Industry: Health care
Total Cash: $46.9 billion
Last closing price: $27.75
52-week range: $21.40 - $31.15
Total debt: $40.4 billion
3. Google
Symbol: GOOG
Industry: Technology
Total Cash: $48.1 billion
Last closing price: $867.62
52-week range: $556.52 - $920.60
Total debt: $7.38 billion
2. Microsoft
CBS Interactive
Symbol: MSFT
Industry: Technology
Total Cash: $68.3 billion
Last closing price: $35.59
52-week range: $26.26 - $25.63
Total debt: $14.76 billion
1. Apple
Copyright iStockphoto.com/Yunus Arakon
Symbol: AAPL
Industry: Technology
Total Cash: $137.1 billion
Last closing price: $450.72
52-week range: $385.10 - $705.07
Total debt: $0
