Not cashing out

A mere five NW200 companies are hoarding more than $109 billion in cash. That's a lot of hot dogs.

By Julie Bort, Network World
April 25, 2005 12:08 AM ET

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Juniper: Secured & assured?

Masters of the virtual world

10 start-ups to watch

A building year: ’04 start-ups revisited

Mergers & acquisitions

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Can too much cash be bad? On the one hand, a whopping figure in a company's cash and short-term investment column indicates strong financial health. On the other, cash hoarders often face criticism that they could be doing more with their stockpile, or that they should be more generous with their dividends. Still, what company wouldn't want to suffer this dilemma?

When it comes to members of the Network World 200, the top five holders of cash and short-term investments sit atop $109 billion. Here are some comparisons that put their cash hoards in perspective.

The most cash-rich NW200 companies . . . and spending comparisons

$109 billion	Combined cash hoard of HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft and Motorola.
$91 billion	Gross domestic product of Singapore, 2003 (Source: Worldbank.org, which has not yet published ’04 data).
$61 billion	Amount Microsoft reported in cash and short-term investments for ‘04.
$60 billion	Global dietary supplement industry (Source: Nutrition Business Journal).
$14 billion	Amount Intel and HP each reported in cash and short-term investments for ’04.
$11 billion	Amount Motorola and IBM each reported in cash and short-term investments for ’04.
$7 billion	Total disaster relief funds for tsunami relief and Sept. 11, combined. ($6 billion tsunami relief promises plus $997 million spent in Sept. 11 disaster aid. Sources: United Nations and Red Cross).
$2.5 billion	Net worth of Donald Trump, No. 215 on Forbes 2004 World’s Richest People.
$1.8 billion	Amount Americans paid for hot dogs at super markets in 2004. (Source: National Hot Dog and Sausage Council).
$580 million	Combined price paid for the 10 most expensive paintings ever sold (by Cezanne, Picasso, Renoir, Van Gogh. Source: SoYouWannaKnow.com).
$94.1 million	Combined cost required to purchase 15 private islands in the Bahamas, ranging from 7 acres to 370 acres (Source: PrivateIslandsOnline.com).