In late April, Apple raised $17 billion as part of a bond sale to help finance its $55 billion stock repurchasing program and increased dividend payouts.
A common question at the time was why a company like Apple, with over $145 billion in the bank, would need to raise money at all. The short of it is that much of Apple's cash lies overseas and the company would incur a 35% tax hit if it chose to repatriate it back to the U.S. As a result, Apple found it more economical to take advantage of historically low interest rates and borrow the money instead. In other words, the interest on its newly acquired debt is much lower than the tax hit it would otherwise take by using its own funds.
As luck would have it, the timing of Apple's bond offering
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