Corporations Making a Huge Mistake, Destroys More Value Than the Government Ever Could
Companies / Corporate News Nov 16, 2012 - 08:39 AM GMTBy: DailyWealth
Dan Ferris A few weeks ago, I called Apple...
I spoke to an investor relations person about the company's massive cash hoard. She confirmed Apple has $121.3 billion in cash and securities on its balance sheet... Of that amount, a "substantial portion" of the company's cash is "indefinitely reinvested" in accounts outside the U.S.
Specifically, $82.6 billion of Apple's total cash position is held in foreign accounts.
The story is similar at other big-name blue chips... For years, companies like Microsoft, Cisco, and Johnson & Johnson have kept a large portion of their cash offshore. This strategy allows them to pay lower taxes on their earnings.
It sounds like a good idea. But it's not. A preoccupation with tax rates is hurting shareholders. Let me explain...
At 35%, America has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world.
This means companies are required, by law, to pay 35% of the income they make to the government. But corporations have found a legal workaround... Businesses that earn big profits in lower-tax countries leave that money overseas, so they pay lower corporate taxes.
Apple, for example, paid a lower effective tax rate in its latest fiscal year of 25% – well below the U.S. corporate rate of 35%.
I realize most shareholders would like the companies they invest in to pay the lowest possible tax rate... That's why many investors don't care much about their companies' massive offshore cash holdings. But they should...
Longtime DailyWealth readers know I'm an enthusiastic supporter of software giant Microsoft. I recognize it's one of the all-time-great creators of shareholder value... Microsoft has compounded shareholder wealth by an average of more than 25% per year since it went public. Few corporations can say the same.
So why is the stock of such a wonderful business trading at such a depressed market valuation?
Right now, the S&P 500 is trading around 16 times earnings. Microsoft trades around 11 times earnings. It should trade at a premium to the market, not a discount. What's going on?
According to the most recent data available, Microsoft has over $60 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments. More than 90% of it is sitting idly in accounts outside the U.S. Microsoft would have to pay $19.4 billion in taxes if it were to bring that cash home to the U.S.
You may think shareholders will end up better off if the company doesn't essentially light $19 billion on fire. But Microsoft shareholders should fear bad capital allocation much more than they fear the taxman.
The U.S. taxman won't destroy 100% of the dollars a company brings home. We can't say the same for companies themselves...
I recently spoke with one of Microsoft's investor relations representatives about the $8.5 billion purchase of Luxembourg-based Skype in October 2011. She offered the Skype deal as evidence Microsoft uses offshore money to create shareholder value. Microsoft paid more than three times what eBay paid for Skype not too long ago. Is Skype three times closer to making a net profit? I sure hope so...
That's not the only bad acquisition management has made. In 2007, Microsoft bought out digital marketing and service provider aQuantive. The acquisition cost $6 billion and was recently written down to zero. The money is gone.
Tell me... would you rather own 100% of aQuantive and Skype... or 65% of $14.5 billion? The aQuantive acquisition was essentially a 100% tax on the invested capital. The U.S. government, by contrast, charges just 35%. Who is the bigger threat to your money?
Most people view taxes as bad and corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity as good. It's silly. It's like saying you'd rather lose your money gambling than have it stolen from you. It doesn't matter who ferried your cash away. It only matters that it's gone.
Piling up cash to avoid paying taxes is a denial of reality. Corporate managers deny reality when they pretend tax efficiency is a priority. And shareholders deny reality when they let management get away with it.
There's really only one solution to the problem: return the excess capital sitting idly on the balance sheet to the owners of the company. Investors are starved for safe, growing income now more than ever.
Microsoft generated over $29 billion of free cash flow last year. It paid out $6.4 billion in cash dividends. It could have paid out triple that amount. Microsoft has enough cash to raise its dividend by 50% immediately. If it instituted a policy of paying out 60% of its free cash flow, I wouldn't be surprised to see shares rise 40%.
My point is simple: Tax efficiency is NOT more important than smart capital allocation. Shareholders should revolt against companies that think it makes sense to play tax games with shareholder money. They should insist the money be brought to the U.S. for distribution to shareholders via dividends or share repurchases.
Good investing,
Dan Ferris
The DailyWealth Investment Philosophy: In a nutshell, my investment philosophy is this: Buy things of extraordinary value at a time when nobody else wants them. Then sell when people are willing to pay any price. You see, at DailyWealth, we believe most investors take way too much risk. Our mission is to show you how to avoid risky investments, and how to avoid what the average investor is doing. I believe that you can make a lot of money – and do it safely – by simply doing the opposite of what is most popular.
Customer Service: 1-888-261-2693 – Copyright 2011 Stansberry & Associates Investment Research. All Rights Reserved. Protected by copyright laws of the United States and international treaties. This e-letter may only be used pursuant to the subscription agreement and any reproduction, copying, or redistribution (electronic or otherwise, including on the world wide web), in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of Stansberry & Associates Investment Research, LLC. 1217 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202
Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.
Daily Wealth Archive
|
© 2005-2013 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.
