Apple planned to raise about $7 billion through its first investment-grade bond sale in more than a year to help fund share buybacks, Bloomberg Technology reported on Nov. 5.
The borrowing offers a chance to cut financing costs rather than meet a funding need, Robert Schiffman, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, said in the interview published in 2026. He described the sale as “more opportunistic than funding driven.”
Apple's shares were at record highs, its market value stood at $5 trillion and it had triple-A credit ratings, Schiffman said. Its bond spreads, the extra yield investors demand above government debt, were lower than those of peers.
That combination made borrowing attractive even without an immediate need for cash. “It's cheap money,” he said, contrasting Apple with newer cloud computing companies that face much higher borrowing costs.
Schiffman put Apple's likely yield on 10-year borrowing at around 5.5%, compared with 17% for a newer cloud provider. He did not identify that provider or give final pricing for Apple's planned sale.
Rising Treasury prices offered Apple an opportunity to reduce its average financing costs while buying back shares. Schiffman said the company could support shareholders without hurting bondholders, describing the timing as favorable.
He then contrasted Apple with the largest cloud computing companies, which he said were spending heavily and seeking funding. Bloomberg Intelligence expects Apple to generate $150 billion in free cash flow in fiscal 2027, he said.
Schiffman said he did not see a large acquisition ahead for Apple. He said the company had dropped its target of keeping cash and debt in balance after a new chief executive took over.
Removing that target gave Apple more room to repurchase shares and potentially increase dividends, he said. He gave no amount or timetable for either, and did not identify a prospective acquisition.
Turning to the technology stock selloff, Schiffman rejected the idea that the sector faced a collapse. He said investors were selling amid uncertainty over how a change in Congress would affect companies.
He expected the effect to be less severe than investors feared. Delays in cash receipts could coincide with delays in spending, potentially strengthening the balance sheets of the largest cloud companies, he said.
Schiffman said companies rated triple-B or higher remained in sound condition. Most newer cloud providers should still obtain financing because their difficulties concerned day-to-day funding rather than a lack of eventual demand, he said.
He nevertheless described a widening divide between companies able to secure funding and those struggling to do so. High-quality technology bond spreads were broadly unchanged or slightly lower that day, he said.
“This is an equity valuation issue about timing of cash flows,” Schiffman said. He distinguished uncertainty over when companies would receive cash from doubts about whether they would receive it at all.
