Did Apple's cash finally burn a hole in its pocket?

We'll find out Monday, one half hour before the market opens

Click to enlarge. Source: Asymco.com

Tim Cook has scheduled a conference call for 9 a.m. EDT Monday to answer the question Wall Street has been asking -- repeatedly, and with increasing insistence -- for years: What does the company plan to do with its enormous stockpile of cash and marketable securities, worth just under $100 billion as of the last quarterly report.

Mr. Market will be extremely disappointed if Apple (AAPL) does not declare a dividend.

Below: The text of the press release:

- - -

Apple Conference Call

WHAT: Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, and Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO, will host a conference call to announce the outcome of the Company's discussions concerning its cash balance. Apple® will not be providing an update on the current quarter nor will any topics be discussed other than cash.

WHEN: Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 a.m. PDT/9:00 a.m. EDT

REBROADCAST: The conference call will be available as a continuous rebroadcast beginning Monday, March 19 at 9:00 a.m. PDT/12:00 p.m. EDT through Monday, April 2 at 9:00 a.m. PDT/12:00 p.m. EDT. The dial-in number for the rebroadcast is (888) 203-1112 (toll-free) or (719) 457-0820. Please enter confirmation code 6274937.

Live Webcast: 
http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/123pijhbsdfvohbafv19/event/index.html

Posted in: Apple, Asymco, Cash, Marketable securities, Tim Cook, Wall Street

• Apple shareholders: The odds are against a dividend today

  The company is likely to hold on to its $100 billion cash hoard -- at least for now

  I suspect that the number one question on the mind of Apple (AAPL) shareholders gathering today at 1 Infinite Loop for the company's annual meeting is what Tim Cook plans to do with Apple's roughly $100 billion in cash and marketable securities.

  "I think it's clear to everyone, and I'd be the first to admit, MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 23, 2012 8:02 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Board of Directors, Cash, Dividend, Goldman Sach, Marketable securities, Morgan Stanley, proxy, Shareholders, Steve Jobs, Stock buyback, Tim Cook

• The U.S. Treasury has less cash on hand than Apple Inc.

  How the world's richest nation and the most valuable tech company stack up

  Unless the debt ceiling is raised by Tuesday Aug. 2, the White House keeps reminding us, the U.S. government will no longer be able to pay its bills.

  But the U.S. Treasury is already running low. Its closing balance as of Wednesday, July 27, was $73.768 billion.

  To put that in perspective, Apple (AAPL) most recent earning statement shows that it was MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jul 29, 2011 6:38 AM ET
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• Don't be fooled by calls for Apple to declare a dividend

  Apple's $76 billion cash stockpile is burning a hole in Wall Street's pockets

  It happens every quarter. Apple (AAPL) reports blowout sales and earnings. Its holdings in cash and marketable securities swell by billions of dollars -- by $10.7 billion, to be specific, in the past 90 days. And analysts come out of the woodwork to demand that the company spend some of those billions buying back shares or issuing dividends MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jul 21, 2011 2:22 PM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Asymco, Cash, Horace Dediu, iPad, iPhone, Mark Russell, Marketable securities, Microsoft, New York Times, Oppenheimer, Sanford Bernstein, Steve Jobs, Wall Street, Wall Street Journal

• 7 fun facts about Apple's cash

  The company finished fiscal Q2 with $65.8 billion in cash and marketable securities

  Asymco's Horace Dediu, who is a master at these things, has charted Apple's (AAPL) growing cash hoard and offered some comparisons to put it in perspective. I quote:

  The funds are big enough to place Apple's CFO office in the top 100 largest fund managers in the world and larger than any hedge fund manager.
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  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Apr 27, 2011 7:13 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Asymco, Cash, Dividends, Financials, Horace Dediu, Marketable securities, Quarterly earnings