Although many U.S. companies, tech or otherwise, have been using corporate debt to fund dividend increases and buybacks rather than pay taxes on cash currently held overseas, tech payouts have risen in unison with the industry’s cash holdings. The sector has been one of the primary drivers of S&P 500 dividend growth in recent and the group’s cash statistics indicate more dividend growth is on the way. [Some Dividend ETFs Still Lack Tech Stocks]
Of the four tech stocks mentioned here, only Google does not pay a dividend.
Consider this: Apple has $194 billion in cash and marketable securities, but only 22 U.S.-listed companies have market caps of $200 billion or more. Combined, Microsoft, Google and Cisco have $207.6 billion in cash. That is more than Chevron’s (NYSE: CVX) market value of $202.3 billion.
iShares U.S. Technology ETF
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of Apple and QQQ.