S&P tracks down the blue chip names with the biggest cash stockpiles—and the top ratings from its equity analystsEven amid financial-market turmoil and a slowing economy, the amount of cash and similar investments on the balance sheets of major U.S. companies has grown over the past year. As of Mar. 21, S&P 500-stock index companies (excluding financials, utilities, and transportation) had $615.5 billion of cash, up from $606.6 billion as of Mar. 30, 2007, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at Standard & Poor's. (These figures exclude financial, utility, and transportation companies because they maintain high cash reserves as a part of their normal operating process.)
Large cash positions are generally considered a positive, from an investment perspective, because they allow companies to pay dividends, buy back shares, acquire other companies, or otherwise use the cash strategically to improve shareholder value.
Playing with Corporate Cash
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