“Apple’s addiction seems to have no bounds,” Matt Krantz reports for USA Today.

“The gadget maker is expected this week to borrow somewhere between $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion through a Yen-denominated bond deal in Japan, says Gerald Granovsky, debt analyst at Moody’s Investors Service,” Krantz reports. “This would be latest in a string of debt offerings piles on top of Apple’s mounting pile of long-term debt, which reached $40.7 billion as of the end of the first quarter. Apple’s total debt after this offering could reach upwards of $45.5 billion.”

“It’s interesting to see how Apple has gone from being a company that completely shunned debt under former CEO Steve Jobs to one that increasingly embraces it. Just three years ago – Apple carried no debt. How things have change,” Krantz reports. “Debt is adding up so fast – it’s now about 25% of Apple’s enormous pile of $160 billion in long-term investments.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Free money. And certainly smarter than the alternative.

SEE ALSO:

Apple set to issue $1.6 billion of yen-denominated bonds – May 27, 2015
Apple takes on more debt to fund expanded capital-return program – May 6, 2015
Apple’s continued debt offerings are good news for investors – February 10, 2015
Famously debt-free under Steve Jobs, Apple is now on the hook for $43 billion in total debt – February 4, 2015