On top of that, Stephen Rosenman observed, “the off-shore component of cash is growing exponentially, courtesy of milder overseas tax treatment as well as burgeoning foreign markets. In contrast, Apple’s U.S. cash/investments are increasing much more slowly.”
Cash added by Apple, foreign vs. U.S.
That trend could hamstring Apple in the long run, making future acquisitions more difficult. While the company has not offered dividends nor bought back stock in many years, if ever, those two strategies would also be harder to execute with less domestic cash.