While Apple touted astonishing 4th quarter earnings and $24.5 Billion in short-term investments, Microsoft followed behind with only $20.7 Billion. Which basically means: Apple has more cash than it’s competitor at this point in the game.
Steve Jobs was quoted as saying, “The economic downturn may present extraordinary opportunities to companies that have cash. Cash is king. We are very comfortable with cash in bank and it is not burning a hole in our pocket.”
Of course, this is not at all a conspiracy. Microsoft maintains a steady income from its Office software, which is multi-platform, and Windows operating system, but the company has been pouring its money into plenty of other investments outside of the software industry. Apple, on the other hand, is a little more careful.
