IDIOT!!! That is a theoretical cash position unless it is allowed to come back to America. I would go along with what Donald Trump has been saying. Charge Apple and the others 10-15% tax to bring the billions back home where they will not be reinvested (that is a despicable lie) but given out to shareholders
No, Baron, Cash in the bank is cash in the bank no matter where you have it saved. Apple has cash in the bank in the USA and off-shore. It only gets discounted if it is brought back into the USA. Apple beat Donald Trump to that proposal to have a 10-15% repatriation tax instead of 35%. . . by several years. Apple has been campaigning to bring that money home for years, money Apple has already paid the income tax on where it was earned. It's real cash no matter where it is and Apple invests it all the time. It's invested now. Apple frequently spends that cash for plant and equipment upgrades.
Again, you haven't got a clue about what you are talking about.
By the way, what would be so bad about paying it out to stockholders OR investing it? Either way it will get invested in America in some form or other.