Why borrow money just to give it to shareholders?

Apple Inc. earlier this week issued a number of bonds in Switzerland, taking advantage of the extremely low Swiss interest rates, to raise approximately $1.35 billion. But why is Apple borrowing money? The company is famously sitting on a large pile of savings, roughly $178 billion in easy-to-access cash or near-cash holdings. Proportionally, its reserves … Continue reading Why borrow money just to give it to shareholders?