Blowout Specials ends 2/28“Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs said his company has to ‘think big’ and its $40 billion cash hoard offers flexibility, suggesting that he had no immediate plans to spend the money on a share buyback or dividend,” Gabriel Madway and Alexei Oreskovic report for Reuters.

“Faced with questions at the annual shareholders meeting over what Apple would do with its cash — which stands at about one-fifth of its market capitalization — Jobs said having the money at hand offers security for the company,” Madway and Oreskovic report. “‘When you take risks, it’s like jumping in the air. When they don’t work out, it’s nice to know the ground is always there,’ the chief executive said.”

“Since Apple spends little on acquisitions, analysts and shareholders want the company to put the money to work through a cash dividend or share buyback,” Madway and Oreskovic report. “But Jobs — who skipped last year’s annual meeting because he was on medical leave for a liver transplant — indicated he saw such a move as having little lasting impact on Apple’s share value.”

Madway and Oreskovic report, “The company he founded was now big enough that it had to ‘think big’ to move the needle, Jobs said.”

Full article here.