How Is Apple Inc. (AAPL) Spending All That Money?

At this point, the fact that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is sitting on a pile of cash is no surprise. Despite the fact that Cupertino has plans to return some of this money to investors, it is safe to say that the company is not going to be running low anytime soon.

Most discussions based on how Apple will spend the money are centered on two ideas: returning money to investors and acquiring other companies as a means of growth. While both of these ideas are worth discussing and have come into play as of late, there are other ways that the company is spending its money.

In fact, there is one other way Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is spending that you may not even be aware of.

According to a recent study completed by Aysmco, “It has been buying capital equipment. Capital meaning (in the original sense of the word) the means of production.”

Did this ever come into your train of thought? Did you ever consider the fact that Apple was spending money on capital equipment?

Like most, your answer is probably no. Instead, you spent most of your time focused on whether or not Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) would give back to consumers as well as which companies Cupertino was looking to purchase.

Here is a brief excerpt from the study, giving you a clear idea of what Apple has been doing in this area:

“Since the launch of the iPhone Apple has spent $21.1 billion on the acquisition of property, plant and equipment. The company has already stated that they will spend another $10 billion or so for the current fiscal year. This has been mostly machinery and equipment used in manufacturing.”

Take a closer look at those numbers. Since Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) rolled out the iPhone in June of 2007, it has spent more than $21 billion “on the acquisition of property, plant and equipment.”

That is a lot of money, however, the company doesn’t have any plans to stop there. Instead, they are going to spend another $10 billion during the current fiscal year.

This is money that Apple spends that most people never hear about. That being said, it is money that has to be spent if the company is going to continue to be a major player in a variety of markets.

On the next page, you will find a chart from Aysmco showing Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s spending habits on this part of its business: