

Apple gets paid for its products before it has to pay for their manufacturing - electic
http://9to5mac.com/2012/07/22/apple-gets-paid-for-its-products-on-average-before-it-has-to-pay-for-their-manufacturing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+9To5Mac-MacAllDay+%289+to+5+Mac+-+Apple+Intelligence%29

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Keithamus
This is very common practice in large business, where the payment terms to
suppliers are sometimes much longer periods than the time to purchase. Amazon,
for example, have the same strategy, where they can sell the majority of their
stock before paying for it. It also happens in the recruitment industry, where
large companies who hire contractors can wait up to 6 months before paying the
recruiters (to pay contractors), who end up in cyclical debt trying to pay the
contractors on time.

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easp
Hmmm. This seems to leave out part of the picture. Apple is also using its
substantial cash pile to lock up supplies of key components. Some supplies get
paid well past delivery, others may get money well before.

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benro
They have a negative cash conversion cycle - Dell mastered this in the late
90's.

