Apple (AAPL) plans to spend all of its $163 billion in net cash over some unspecified time, its CFO Luca Maestri told analysts Thursday evening on a conference call following fiscal Q1 results this afternoon.
The announcement had been reported by the FT’s Tim Bradshaw just as Maestri was addressing the Street, based on an interview with Maestri.
Bradshaw writes that Maestri indicated Apple will spend the amount on dividends, M&A, and share buybacks, though Maestri said further details will be forthcoming when the company reports Q2 results in April. For the moment he merely said Apple will “deploy all that cash for capital allocation."
On tonight’s call, Maestri remarked, "Our current net cash position is $163 billion, and given the increased financial and operational flexibility from the access to our foreign cash, we are targeting to become approximately net cash neutral over time."
"We will provide an update to our specific capital allocation plans when we report results for our second fiscal quarter, consistent with the timing of our updates that we had provided in the past."
Apple had a gross cash balance at quarter’s end of $285.1 billion, with $269 billion, 94%, domiciled overseas. After paying off $38 billion in taxes on the overseas balance, the company has a net cash position of $163 billion, Maestri said.
Apple stock has recovered from a brief sell-off following the report, which included a forecast for revenue this quarter below consensus, something the Street had increasingly expected in recent weeks.
The stock is now up $3.67, or 2%, at $171.44.
