The Top 5 Cash Holders Store Money Abroad: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Pfizer Inc (PFE), Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO)

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

We may have escaped the tech sector for a brief moment, but we are back. After an 11.45% increase in 2012, Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO)‘s stock has increased 6.14% YTD. Remarkably, Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) has more total cash in its possession than the revenues the company generated in 2012. Its total cash is $46.4 billion while its 2012 revenues were $46.1 billion. 85% of its cash is stored overseas, and the company is discounted as its FCF yield of 9.3% shows. Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) shows a P/E of 12.4. The chart below shows how these companies’ FCF has varied over the past five years.

AAPL Free Cash Flow data by YCharts

The Foolish Conclusion…

For six consecutive years corporate America has dramatically increased its cash piles — these are just the top five cash holders in America. In 2012 the cash piles grew by $130 billion. Although Google may not have the FCF yield that these other companies have, that metric alone shouldn’t scare investors off. These other companies may be a better value, but Google seems to crush competition in virtually every area. Don’t base your decision to invest (or not invest) purely on these figures. This is just a tiny corner of the picture, but all of these companies seem to be generating more money, building up cash, and presenting opportunities for investors.

The article The Top 5 Cash Holders Store Money Abroad originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Tyler Wofford.

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