Jobs Asked Buffett What to Do With Apple's Cash But Didn't Take His Advice

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Posted February 27, 2012 at 10:24pm by iClarified

Warren Buffett revealed that Steve Jobs asked him what to do with Apple's cash but ended up not taking his advice during a live appearance on CNBC's Squawk Box this morning.

"It was an interesting conversation because I hadn't talked to him in a long time. He said, 'We've got all this cash. What should we do with it?' So we went over the alternatives. It was kind of interesting."

Buffett says there are only four things to do with cash: stocks buybacks, dividends, acquisitions, or "sitting with it."

"I went through the logic of each thing. He told me they would not have the chance to make big acquisitions that would require lots of money... And then I asked him the question, I said .. 'I would use it for buybacks if I thought my stock was undervalued.' And I said, 'How do you feel about that?' The stock was 200-and-something. He said, 'I think my stock is very undervalued.' I said, 'Well, what better to do with your money?' And then we talked awhile. And, he didn't do anything, and of course, he didn't want to do anything. He just liked having the cash. It was very interesting to me because I later learned that he said I agreed with him to do nothing with the cash. (Laughs.) He didn't want to repurchase stock although he absolutely felt his stock was significantly underpriced at two-hundred and whatever it was then."

Check this or this out to get an idea of just how much cash Apple has.

Read More [via CultofMac]

Jobs Asked Buffett What to Do With Apple's Cash But Didn't Take His Advice

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AJ - February 29, 2012 at 2:20am

I'm really surprised that Buffet didn't tell Jobs to give all that dough to charity.

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Bj - February 28, 2012 at 9:05am

Seems to me there are a lot of android users here who just hates whatever comes with the brand apple.

Drkztan - February 28, 2012 at 12:40am

Foxconn's workers are amongst the best paid in china, regular tard. And If you read carefully, it says apple's money, not jobs'

Russell - February 28, 2012 at 1:05am

Best paid but worst working conditions because of Apple! The deplorable working conditions in China are the result of Apple's constant pressure on the suppliers to increase productivity while reducing costs. Apple insists on knowing the supplier's cost of the parts and labor. Apple then decides how much profit they(the supplier) can have. A year later, Apple will demand a 10% price cut. The suppliers start cutting corners, exposing their workers to dangerous and sometimes fatal working conditions. Chinese workers urge Apple to act on n-hexane poisoning "From when hexyl hydride was used, monthly profits at Apple and Wintek have gone up by tens of millions every month, the accumulated outcome of workers' lives and health," said the letter, signed by five workers claiming to represent employees. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/22/chinese-workers-apple-nhexane-poisoning In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad Apple never cared about anything other than increasing product quality and decreasing production cost, said Li Mingqi, who until April worked in management at Foxconn Technology, one of Apples most important manufacturing partners. Workers welfare has nothing to do with their interests, he said. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/business/ieconomy-apples-ipad-and-the-human-costs-for-workers-in-china.html

mavrik101 - February 28, 2012 at 3:20am

It is Apple's money as a company NOT Steve Jobs personally stash.

drkztan - February 28, 2012 at 7:49pm

@Russell that is completely untrue. First of all, Apple has no control whatsoever in foxconn's management of working conditions, foxconn works for other companies too. Second and more importanly, Foxconn is actually one the companies with best worker conditions in china. It's not Apple's fault that china on avarage has very low standards in working conditions, and foxconn's stand out a lot from every other chinese factory.

Russell - February 29, 2012 at 5:56am

@drkztan You are naive. Apple does control their suppliers. Apple puts immense pressure on them. So much pressure that workers will commit suicide if the can't meet Apple's "standards". Remember what happened when a chinese worker lost an iphone? "...July 13 he reported that he was missing one of the 16 fourth-generation units in his possession, the newspaper reported. His friends said company security guards searched his apartment, detained him and beat him, the paper reported. In the early morning of July 16, Sun jumped from the 12th floor of his apartment building". http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-07-22-china-suicide-iphone_N.htm Has anything like that happened to Acer, Dell, Microsoft,...? No. Twice, in less than 7 months, ipad factories had explosions killing people. Again, has anything like that happened to Acer, Dell, Microsoft,...? No.

Russell - February 29, 2012 at 5:58am

Pegatron Technology, a manufacturer that builds computers for other tech companies, has reportedly given up orders to make Asus Zenbooks following pressure from Apple. The news comes via Digitimes, citing a report from Commercial Times. Apparently Apple was unhappy with Pegatron making Zenbook ultrabooks, which look very similar to Apple's own MacBook Air -- that is to say, thin and wedge-like. Pegatron also makes iPhones for Apple, and the site reports the latter demanded Pegatron make a choice. Not surprisingly, Pegatron chose Apple. Now the company's current Zenbook orders will stop by the end of March at the earliest, with Asus forced to find someone else to build its teeny-weeny laptops. http://crave.cnet.co.uk/laptops/apple-forces-pc-maker-to-stop-making-asus-ultrabooks-50006943/

drkztan - February 29, 2012 at 8:44am

To build it's copycat laptops, you mean? I don't know why you overlook the fact that Asus didn't spend millions on research of the macbook design and can still get to use it. And yes, apple has a little pressure, but that still doesn't mean Apple is responsible for China's crappy worker conditions. That's like saying that a university teacher is responsible for your bad diet because he puts you tests often. It's you who must do the time managment properly, not her.

BSoares - February 27, 2012 at 11:42pm

Buy Intel so they stop delaying new processors. We need Ivy Bridge out right away so they can finally release the new iMac.

mavrik101 - February 27, 2012 at 10:38pm

Sounds like Jobs agreed in many ways -- he had already bought and sold stocks in Disney and Pixar -- and with Apple he chose to 'sit on it'. Going globe-nuclear against Google and Android - I like Steves' decision best. Fairly useless advice from Buffet.