Every quarter, Apple manages to impress with its gargantuan cash hoard, which in Q2 rose to $262 billion (which however is $153 billion net of debt), a new all time high as shown in the chart below.
While it is widely known that of this $262 billion, the vast majority, or $246 billion is held offshore, what is less appreciated is that Apple's actual cash is just $18.6 billion. The rest is held in various securities, both short- and long-term, something we first reported back in September when we introduced readers to Braeburn Capital, the firm that actually manages Apple's quarter trillion in asset holdings.
In the five years that have passed since then, Apple's AUM have grown. Substantially.
As the company reported in its latest 10Q, as of June 30, AAPL now owns enough assets to not only put even the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater with less than $200Bn in assets to shame, but some of the world's largest holders of Treasurys. Of its total $243 billion in Short and Long-Term securities, Apple owned a whopping $51.5 billion in Treasurys, split between $20.1 billion in T-Bills and $31.3 billion in Treasury Bonds.
While Apple's TSY holdings have fluctuated over the years, with a notable decline around September 2014, they have since grown to an all time high of $51.5BN, up from $50.9BN last quarter and $40.5BN as of its last fiscal year end:
Putting this number in context, if Apple was a sovereign nation, it would be the 24th largest holder of US Treasurys in the world, more than Turkey with $49.5 billion, Norway with $48.3 billion and Sweden with $40.8 billion and Mexico with $38.9 billion.
Still, nothing compares to Apple's major asset class, total Corporate Securities, which in Q2 hit a new all time high just above $150 billion, up from $54.6 billion 5 years ago.
As for the rest of Apple's holdings, here is the full breakdown:
- Corporate Securities: $150.6 billion
- Treasurys: $51.5 billion
- Mortgage and asset backed: $20.6 billion
- Non-US Govt securities: $7.1 billion
- Certificates of deposit: $5.8 billion
- Agency: $3.1 billion
- Commercial paper: $2.5 billion
- Municipal debt: $939 million
For a grand total of $261.5 billion, including $18.6 billion in cash. If the whole iPhone thing ever fail,s Apple can just give active asset management a try. That said, we wonder just how much Apple pays in broker fees each year and how much it gets back in the form of favorable sellside research.