The World's Richest Companies 2018: Global Finance Cash 25

Worldwide, corporate cash hit an all-time high last year, spotlighting more than a decade of growth. US nonfinancial companies, anticipating tax legislation that would enable them to repatriate offshore cash holdings without penalty, brought their total liquid assets to a record $2.1 trillion at the end of 2017, according to S&P Global. Nonfinancial firms in Europe, the Middle East and Africa recorded $1 trillion in corporate cash for the second consecutive year, according to Moody’s, even though their net M&A spending nearly tripled to a seven-year high of €80 billion ($96 billion) in 2017.

The richest were richer than ever as 2018 began. Last year, the cutoff to make the top 25 was $16.3 billion in liquid holdings, and only the top 10 had more than $25 billion. This year, the cutoff for inclusion soared to $24.4 billion, and all but one of the top 25 have more than $25 billion.

This year, we expanded our criteria to include all publicly traded nonfinancial companies—even those with majority state ownership. Prior lists excluded any company with more than 50% government ownership, but we sought to give readers a window into the financial position of state-controlled firms. This brought significant new entrants to the regional lists in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Geographically, US companies continue to dominate the ranking, accounting for 13 positions, seven of them in the Top 10. Japan contributes four companies while China adds three, if one counts China Mobile, headquartered in Beijing but incorporated in Hong Kong.

Tech Giants Dominate

Technology giants stay ahead in our sixth annual ranking. The top US big tech firms alone account for a whopping $446.7 billion in cash, 12% more than the previous year. Microsoft stays at the top of this subgroup for the third year in a row with almost $133 billion in cash and cash equivalents, up $19.7 billion from 2016, despite chalking up capital expenditures (capex) of $8.1 billion—roughly the same level as 2016.With $101.9 billion, Google’s parent, Alphabet, has the second-biggest cash stash, adding more than $15 billion to its pile. Apple comes third, followed by China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile company by market capitalization. Cisco moves ahead of Oracle.

For many other companies, growth in their cash holdings is linked to acquisition plans. AT&T, 8th, grew its cash stash from $5.8 billion to $50.5 billion in just one year, mainly by resorting to the bond market. That bumped up the resources available for the company’s planned acquisition this year of Time Warner—finally approved in June after an intense judicial battle, although the decision may be reversed on appeal. Gilead Sciences spent $11.9 billion on the acquisition of Kite Pharma, and at the end of the year still had $25.5 billion on its balance sheet and may be on the lookout for other M&A deals. Qualcomm, on the other hand, recently announced that, in the pall of the US-China trade war, it is dropping its offer to buy NXP for $44 billion after failing to obtain approval from China’s antitrust agency. Instead, the company will spend $30 billion on buybacks.

Central Japan Railway Company (also known as JR Central or JR Tokai) debuts on the list in 16th place. Financing needs for construction of the Chuo Shinkansen magnetic levitation line led JR Central to create a dedicated cash fund that the company has generously fed for the last two years. Another Japanese newcomer is SoftBank Group, which has been raising cash to keep its leverage ratios in line as it pursues an aggressive investment policy.

A change in eligibility criteria brought in a few newcomers previously excluded because of their ownership structure, including three from China: China Mobile in 4th place, China State Construction Engineering at 10th, and China Petroleum & Chemical (Sinopec) at 17th. Of those, only Sinopec saw a noteworthy increase in its cash and cash equivalents in 2017, although its cash-to-total-assets ratio is still an unimpressive 13.6%.

Will 2017 represent a high-water mark for corporate cash holdings? Don’t assume it. The American Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) profoundly changed the landscape for corporate-finance practitioners, slashing the top US corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and allowing a one-time cash repatriation holiday. Will US companies reinvest those tax savings? Pay down debt? Give raises? How much will they retain? Will the M&A juggernaut continue?

Caution Is Back

The direction cash-rich companies will steer post-TCJA is still unclear. In its April 2018 Liquidity Survey, the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) found that up to 40% of respondents were still unsure of the new law’s implications and didn’t anticipate any changes in their company’s expenditures. Almost one in four companies were repatriating overseas cash, 18% planned to increase capex, 15% said they wanted to increase wages and bonuses, 14% planned share repurchases and 8% expected to make new hires. Significantly, companies planning to pay down debt dropped from 65% in 2017 to 26% this year.

A good deal of the extra cash might remain in liquid form. The AFP Corporate Cash Indicators showed a significant number of US companies continuing to grow their cash holdings in the first months of 2018, although the pace slowed down in the second quarter. Global cash piles may start to decline; but uncertainty, including what looks like a trade war, suggests leading companies may need to maintain comfortable cash buffers.

M&A is also heating up. In the US, the TCJA has made M&A more attractive for both buyers and sellers by reducing corporate tax rates and allowing companies, at least temporarily, to immediately expense 100% of depreciable tangible assets acquired. Combined with faster growth in Europe, that helped bring global M&A deals to a record $2.5 trillion in the first half of 2018, according to Thomson Reuters, with health care and media companies the leading targets. High valuations, geopolitical risk and increasing tensions between the US and China, with tariff, regulatory and antitrust ramifications, will make it harder to keep up the pace. But absent major disruptions, the global M&A market is on track to break 2007’s record $4.1 trillion in transactions.

Another potential use for excess liquidity is, of course, stock buybacks. The last time Washington offered a repatriation tax holiday, in 2004, analysts estimated 60% to 90% of the funds went to share repurchases. This time around, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA) estimated that buybacks would be only half of the expected $1.2 trillion of repatriated cash.

That prediction seems to have been off. Buybacks in the Standard & Poor’s 500 hit $189.1 billion in the first quarter, up almost 10% from the previous record, set in the third quarter of 2007. TrimTabs Investment Research estimated first-quarter buybacks at $242 billion and in the second quarter at a staggering $437 billion. Total returns to investors, including both stock repurchases and dividends, in the first three months of the year reached $1 trillion for the first time in history.

Apple has set the most ambitious goal by far. In May the company announced it would buy back $100 billion of its own shares. Apple’s repurchases amounted to $22.8 billion in the first quarter, accounting for 12% of the total for the S&P 500, and another $20 billion in the second. On June 28, Nike announced a $15 billion repurchase plan. In March, drug maker Amgen added $10 billion to its already active $4.4 billion program. And financial-services companies added a total of $112 billion in buyback announcements, with Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America announcing plans to repurchase more than $20 billion each.

What About My Raise?

Workers won’t get much of the tax-cut windfall. American Airlines, Walt Disney, AT&T and a few others announced tax-cut bonuses early this year and some, including Walmart and Wells Fargo, have raised minimum pay for workers or announced extraordinary contributions to retirement plans. But the higher minimum pay at Wells Fargo, for example, will cost the company a mere $78 million, while its buyback plan will cost $20 billion. And even the bank has waffled on whether it’s related to the tax cut or not. Workers at Disney, in the end, never got their raise; it was contingent on accepting management’s contract proposal.

Capex at S&P 500 companies grew 24% in the first quarter, moving even faster than buybacks. But at $166 billion, this is still below the level of share repurchases. And not all sectors are contributing equally. Google’s capex in the first quarter tripled its total for the same period the previous year. Apple recently announced it is raising its capex for 2018 to more than $26 billion, doubling its 2017 figure. The energy sector, too, shows money flowing back into oil projects now that prices have recovered.

Top 25 Global Public Companies By Cash On Balance Sheet

^aCurrent year. ^bPrior year. ^cLatest available year. ^dGovernment holds 50% or more. ^e2018 data. Data valid as of July 20, 2018. All figures in USD.

Data provided by: Orbis by Bureau van Dijk

Outside the S&P 500, investment activity is positive but less buoyant. According to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, investment in equipment grew by 6.1% in the first quarter: solid growth, but in line with the last few quarters. Meanwhile, analysts are warning about the artificial boost that buybacks are giving to stock prices.

After all, cash may be king, but it does not always rule wisely.

North America

Once more, technology behemoths top the list of US corporate cash kings. AT&T jumps out of nowhere to 6th place after multiplying its liquid assets by a factor of almost nine in just one year, in preparation for the Time Warner acquisition. Gilead Sciences leaps into 13th place after more than doubling its cash stash. Solid numbers keep General Motors and Coca-Cola in the ranking, losing six positions each despite minor decreases in their absolute liquidity.

Top Regional Public Companies By Cash On Balance Sheet — North America

^aCurrent year. ^bPrior year. ^cLatest available year. ^d2018 data. Data valid as of July 20, 2018. All figures in USD.

Data provided by: Orbis by Bureau van Dijk

Latin America

Tax havens significantly warp the ranking of Latin America’s top cash hoarders, with five of the top ten companies based in Asia but incorporated in the Cayman Islands. In 1st position, with $24.4 billion in cash, is Petrobras, the state-owned Brazilian oil company. But Beijing-based technology companies Baidu and NetEase come 2nd and 3rd. Ctrip, the travel services company headquartered in Shanghai, takes 4th place. It’s followed by CK Asset Holdings of Hong Kong (formerly Cheung Kong Property Holdings), which managed to stay in 5th despite losing some fuel. Schlumberger, the French oilfield services provider based in Houston but incorporated in Curaçao, takes some steps down the ladder after reducing its cash reserves by 45%; while FEMSA, the Mexican beverage and retail giant, takes a big leap forward by more than doubling its liquid assets.

Top Regional Public Companies By Cash On Balance Sheet — Latin America

^aCurrent year. ^bPrior year. ^cLatest available year. ^dGovernment holds 50% or more. Data valid as of July 20, 2018. All figures in USD.

Data provided by: Orbis by Bureau van Dijk

Western Europe

The ranks of Europe’s most cash-rich companies stayed fairly stable in 2017, with six of last year’s top ten remaining in the top ten. Total keeps 1st place for the fourth year running, as it increased its cash holdings almost 25% to $36.2 billion and widened its lead over BP, with $25.7 billion. Daimler, Shell and Vodafone complete Europe’s Top 5. Big oil has a strong presence in the ranking, accounting for five companies out of 15. The biggest leap, however, was for Christian Dior, which in the aftermath of the Arnault family’s and LVMH’s moves to win complete control over the brand has almost tripled its cash holdings to $12.4 billion.

Top Regional Public Companies By Cash On Balance Sheet — Western Europe

^aCurrent year. ^bPrior year. ^cLatest available year. ^dGovernment holds 50% or more. ^e2018 data. Data valid as of July 20, 2018. All figures in USD.

Data provided by: Orbis by Bureau van Dijk

Central and Eastern Europe and Turkey

Expanding the criteria for inclusion had especially big impact on our Central and Eastern Europe ranking. Gazprom, with a $15.7 billion pile of cash, is the undisputable regional leader. Rosneft takes 2nd place despite a big dip in its liquidity, which declined by more than half to $9 billion, in part due to a Trump administration ruling against the company’s joint venture with ExxonMobil.

Energy—particularly oil and gas—completely dominates the Central and Eastern Europe rankings, taking the four first spots and bringing four new companies into the Top 10. Geographically, Russian companies reign, occupying the first seven spots. Turkish Airlines, Turkish steel producer Erdemir and Polish oil refiner and retailer PKN Orlen—all state-owned—are the only non-Russian companies making the list.

Top Regional Public Companies By Cash On Balance Sheet — Central-Eastern Europe and Turkey

^aCurrent year. ^bPrior year. ^cLatest available year. ^dGovernment holds 50% or more. ^e2018 data. Data valid as of July 20, 2018. All figures in USD.

Data provided by: Orbis by Bureau van Dijk

Asia-Pacific

With $71.6 billion of cash in its accounts, state-owned China Mobile takes 1st place in Asia-Pacific this year. Following in 2nd is Toyota, with a stash of $53.9 billion, while China State Construction Engineering takes over 3rd place despite an 8% decrease in its cash holdings to $42.7 billion. The biggest improvement was recorded by Central Japan Railway, which significantly increased its cash reserves in preparation for construction of the Chuo Shinkansen line.

Top Regional Public Companies By Cash On Balance Sheet — Asia-Pacific

^aCurrent year. ^bPrior year. ^cLatest available year. ^dGovernment holds 50% or more. Data valid as of July 20, 2018. All figures in USD.

Data provided by: Orbis by Bureau van Dijk

Middle East

In the Middle East ranking, a few state-owned corporations appear this year for the first time. Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) increased its cash stash by 47% in 2017 and lands on top with $15.7 billion. Other companies report much more modest activity. Two telecoms come in 2nd and 4th: Emirates Etisalat and Qatari Ooredoo. In 3rd and 5th places are two real estate developers, Emirati Emaar Properties and Aldar Properties. The only companies in the top 10 without significant government ownership are Check Point Software, the Israeli cybersecurity company, which dropped from 3rd to 7th place despite keeping its cash stash almost unchanged; and Woqod, the Qatari fuel retailer, which fell from 4th to 8th despite an increase of almost 38% to $1.2 billion in cash.

Top Regional Public Companies By Cash On Balance Sheet — Middle East

^aCurrent year. ^bPrior year. ^cLatest available year. ^dGovernment holds 50% or more. Data valid as of July 20, 2018. All figures in USD.

Data provided by: Orbis by Bureau van Dijk

Africa

The 10 richest African companies are diverse by sector, but very concentrated geographically; all but one are based in South Africa. After more than doubling its cash pile to $4 billion, internet and media group Naspers takes 1st place. Sasol keeps the second spot, despite reducing its liquidity by more than a third to $2.3 billion. MTN, the global mobile telecommunications company, takes over third position with $1.9 billion. The sole non-South-African company in the regional top 10, Nigeria’s Dangote Cement, lands in 8th place after increasing its cash reserves by 45% to $550 million.

Top Regional Public Companies By Cash On Balance Sheet — Africa

^aCurrent year. ^bPrior year. ^cLatest available year. ^d2018 data. Data valid as of July 20, 2018. All figures in USD.

Data provided by: Orbis by Bureau van Dijk