No Revenue? No Problem. Apple Could Survive On Cash Reserves ‘Til 2018

At the Q2 2011 earnings call, Apple announced its cash stockpile had increased by $6.1 billion, totaling $65.8 billion by the end of the March quarter. Asymco’s Horace Dediu decided to take a look at these numbers to put things in perspective, and came out with some interesting facts about Apple’s current cash. For instance, if Apple’s revenue stopped completely, its cash would keep operations going for at least 7 years until mid-2018 – that is, if Apple suddenly stopped generating any kind of revenue. If you consider, though, that Apple will keep selling millions of products in the next months, and that the cash pile will continue growing bigger, you get an idea of how cash allows the company to invest in pre-payment deals, or research & development for new breakthrough devices like the iPad. Other tidbits from Asymco’s research:

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.

Current cash is worth more than Nokia, RIM and Motorola Mobility’s market caps, put together.

Apple’s cash is worth half of Google’s enterprise value.

With the release of the white iPhone 4, more iPad 2 shipments and rumored iMac and MacBook Air updates on their way, we wonder what the chart above will look like after Apple’s Q3 2011 results. [via GigaOM]