According to a story in seattlepi.com, the biggest cash pile in the technology industry has historically belonged to Microsoft but now Apple has taken the lead, with implications for both companies.

Click to enlarge

courtesy: www.usatoday.com

Cash in this sense translates into the ability to consider acquisitions and other potentially business-boosting deals. Microsoft for example had been planning to borrow money for the first time, before it withdrew its $US44.6 billion Yahoo.

Meanwhile, says the article, Apple’s balance has been growing — reaching $US19.5 billion at last count — as a result of the cash generated by its Mac and iPod lines. Less than four years ago, its stockpile was $US5.5 billion, with investors now watching Apple’s growing cash balance in much the same way they did Microsoft’s a few years ago.

Historically, Apple has “built its business from the ground up, preferring smaller strategic acquisitions of technology and talent”, says seattlepi.com, adding that if the company “continues to follow that pattern, that means it’s not likely to reduce its cash pile through a blockbuster deal”.

However, Microsoft’s $US44.6 billion bid for Yahoo required the proposal to be funded half in cash and half in stock.

And even then, Microsoft said it would have needed to borrow an unspecified amount to finance the acquisition.

So it seems, the wheel has turned – we may well see the emergence of Apple as a new Microsoft-sized company, whilst some analysts have also been heard saying that this is an indication that Microsoft has peaked in its growth and may now start to decline.