With $256B in cash reserves, Apple's war chest is larger than Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon combined

Apple on Wednesday announced financial results for its fiscal 2017 second quarter, which ended on April 1, 2017. Apple posted quarterly revenue of $52.9 billion and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $2.10. These results compare to revenue of $50.6 billion and earnings per diluted share of $1.90 in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 65 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said in a statement,

We are proud to report a strong March quarter, with revenue growth accelerating from the December quarter and continued robust demand for iPhone 7 Plus. We’ve seen great customer response to both models of the new iPhone 7 (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition and we’re thrilled with the strong momentum of our services business, with our highest revenue ever for a 13-week quarter.

Apple also announced that its Board of Directors had authorised an increase of $50 billion to the Company’s programme to return capital to shareholders and is extending the programme time frame by four quarters. Under the expanded programme, Apple plans to spend a cumulative total of $300 billion by the end of March 2019.

“We generated strong operating cash flow of $12.5 billion and returned over $10 billion to our investors in the March quarter,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “Given the strength of our business and our confidence in our future, we are happy to announce another $50 billion increase to our capital return programme today.”

The Company plans to continue to access the domestic and international debt markets to assist in funding the programme. The management team and the Board will continue to review each element of the capital return programme regularly and plan to provide an update on the programme on an annual basis.

Cash reserves of $256 billion

While there have been concerns about the declining sales of iPhones and iPads, Apple is currently sitting on $256 billion in cash and marketable securities. Geekwire.com noted that this amount is more cash than what fellow tech giants Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet, and Amazon combined, have in their war chests.

Apple also provided the following projections for its fiscal 2017 third quarter:

• Revenue between $43.5 and $45.5 billion.
• Gross margin between 37.5 and 38.5 percent.
• Operating expenses between $6.6 and $6.7 billion.
• Other income/(expense) of $450 million.
• Tax rate of 25.5 percent.