Apple Has Largest Cash Stockpile, Twice That Of Microsoft’s

Apple ( AAPL ) continues to reign as the Scrooge McDuck of the corporate world, keeping a virtual treasure vault of gold coins that it can swim in. Apple accounted for $215.7 billion, or 12.8%, of total corporate cash in 2015, Moody’s Investors Service reported Friday. That’s up from $178 billion, or 10.7%, in 2014, and $159 billion, or 9.7%, in 2013. The top five U.S. companies stockpiling cash, all tech companies, collectively held $504 billion, or 30% of the total corporate cash balance among non-financial companies. That’s up from $440 billion, or 27%, in 2014 and $404 billion, or 25%, in 2013. The top five are: Apple, Microsoft ( MSFT ), Google parent Alphabet ( GOOGL ), Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) and Oracle ( ORCL ). U.S. non-financial companies rated by Moody’s held $1.68 trillion in cash at the end of 2015, up 1.8% from $1.65 trillion at the end of 2014. But much of the cash is parked overseas, and U.S. companies are reluctant to bring it home, lest they face stiff tax penalties. Overseas cash is estimated at $1.2 trillion, or 72% of total cash. That’s up from $1.1 trillion, or 64% of cash in 2014, and $950 billion, or 58% of total cash, in 2013. Technology, health care/pharmaceuticals, consumer products and energy are the most cash-flush industries, with $1.3 trillion, or 71%, of the corporate cash total. The tech sector has the largest cash pile, at $777 billion, or 46%, of the total, Moody’s said. Microsoft, the second-most cash-rich company in the U.S., had $102.6 billion, less than half of Apple’s total. Alphabet came in third with $73.1 billion, followed by Cisco ($60.4 billion) and Oracle ($52.3 billion). Apple shares ended Friday trades up 1.1%. Microsoft and Alphabet finished the day up less than 1% on the stock market today . Cisco and Oracle each climbed 1.5%.

Apple Begins Retail Refresh With San Francisco Store

Apple ( AAPL ) on Saturday will open a new store at San Francisco’s Union Square, offering many new features and services that it will be rolling out to other Apple retail stores worldwide. Apple is evolving its store design and trying to make its shops into community hubs that entertain and educate visitors, Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice president of retail and online stores, said in a statement . The Union Square location features 42-foot-tall sliding glass doors at the entrance and a 6K video wall inside. The Genius Bar has been replaced by a Genius Grove, where customers can get support from Apple tech experts under a canopy of local trees in the center of the store. The Union Square store also boasts an art-filled outdoor plaza with seating, free Wi-Fi, a 50-foot “green wall” and regular acoustic music performances. Apple expects to add similar public spaces at other flagship stores. The store is powered by 100% renewable energy, including electricity produced by photovoltaic panels integrated into the building’s roof. At a press preview Thursday, Ahrendts said she wants to see Apple stores integrated with the community and become like town squares, the Verge reported . “This is more than just a store,” Ahrendts said. “We want people to say, ‘Hey, meet me at Apple.’ ” Apple shares were up 1.1% to 95.22 at Friday’s close on the stock market today . RELATED: Apple Has Largest Cash Stockpile, Twice That Of Microsoft’s Hedge Funds Dump Apple, Buy Facebook In Q1 .

8×8 Guidance Tops Views; Stock Up On ‘Next Phase Of Growth’

8×8 ( EGHT ) stock jumped Friday after the provider of business communications services on Thursday reported higher-than-expected fiscal Q4 revenue and forecast current-year sales above consensus estimates. 8×8 stock leapt 7.3% to 12.60 in the stock market today , touching a nearly four-month high. With Friday’s gain, the San Jose, Calif.-based company’s stock is in the black for 2016 to date. Shares broke out of a cup-with-handle at a 12.05 buy point on Wednesday. The provider of VoIP services (voice over Internet protocol) has an IBD Composite Rating of 93 out of a possible 99, putting it among the top 7% of all companies on key metrics such as stock performance. 8×8 reported adjusted earnings of 3 cents per share in fiscal Q4 ended March 31, down from 5 cents per share in the year-earlier period but in-line with Wall Street views. Revenue rose 32% to $57.3 million, where analysts had modeled revenue of $54.4 million. In the current fiscal year, 8×8 said it expects revenue of $251 million at the midpoint of its guidance range, vs. consensus estimates of $245 million. For fiscal 2016, the company said sales rose 29% to $209.3 million. “8×8 has now entered the next phase of growth, graduating from being a pure over-the-top small-business VoIP provider in the United States to a global enterprise communications service provider with a broad end-to-end suite of cloud service offerings,” Dmitry Netis, an analyst at William Blair, said in a research report.