Apple has acquired approximately 20 to 25 companies in the past six months, says CEO Cook

“Apple buys a company every two to three weeks on average, CEO Tim Cook told CNBC’s Becky Quick in an interview from Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting over the weekend,” Lauren Feiner reports for CNBC. “In roughly the last six months alone, Cook said Apple has bought approximately 20 to 25 companies. Apple often doesn’t announce these deals because the companies are small and Apple is ‘primarily looking for talent and intellectual property,’ Cook said.”
“In its fiscal second-quarter earnings report, Apple reported a $225.4 billion cash hoard, making it one of the most cash rich companies in the world,” Feiner reports. “Apple has pledged to contribute $350 billion to the U.S. over five years, through expansion and taxes on repatriated cash.”
“Even though Apple acquires several companies a year, it’s famous for not making major acquisitions,” Feiner reports. “Apple has also reportedly mulled other major acquisitions, including Time Warner in 2016, according to a Wall Street Journal report at the time”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We continue to hear whispers that a “very big” Apple acquisition looms.
As we reported on April 4, 2019:
A little birdie tells us that “a major Apple acquisition looms,” but that “it’s not yet a done deal.” If it goes through, however, “people will be shocked.” No further information was given. We’re unsure if “people will be shocked” at the name of company Apple may acquire, the size of the acquisition, both, and/or something else altogether.
Apple reports Q219 earnings on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 after market close, right around 4:30pm EDT. Traditionally, Apple updates investors on the company’s capital return program – buybacks and dividends – at that time.
Apple plans “to become approximately net cash neutral over time,” in the words of CFO Luca Maestri in February 2018. Apple currently has north of $245 billion cash on hand. In other words, the sky’s the limit!
Stay tuned.
SEE ALSO:
Major Apple acquisition looms; ‘people will be shocked’ – April 4, 2019