In the aftermath of several recent events such as i) the issuance of new mega batch of $12 billion in bonds by a suddenly domestic-cash strapped Apple, ii) the repatriation of $9 billion in offshore profits (and payment of $3 billion in taxes) by eBay, iii) the flurry of pharma M&A deals and reverse mergers in which US companies are redomiciled offshore (in low corporate tax hosts like Ireland) to avoid paying US taxes, and iv) the outright use of offshore funds to buy offshore companies such as the GE-Alstom deal which bypasses the US treasury entirely, two questions emerge: who has the most offshore cash, and who is most likely to be the next US corporation to engage in one or all of the above listed transactions which merely seek to optimize a company's offshore cash holdings.
The answer is shown on the chart below: this is the list of the top 15 US companies that have the bulk of accumulated offshore profits, amounting to roughly $1 trillion in cash, which is never subject to US taxation, and which financial engineers try to generate the highest shareholder returns on.
