经济学人74:钱多了该怎么花 苹果大赚

 　　Apple's cash pile

　　苹果大赚

　　How to spend it

　　钱多了该怎么花

　　The tech giant should give cash back to shareholders¹

　　巨额现金流应该部分返还股东

　　NOT long after Steve Jobs died last year, wags eulogised the Apple co-founder with a joke:

　　苹果公司创始人史蒂夫·乔布斯去年病逝后不久，就有这样一个赞颂他的笑话流行起来：

　　"Ten years ago we had Steve Jobs, Bob Hope and Johnny Cash. Now we have no jobs, no hope and no cash." Apple may no longer have Jobs, but it fills investors² with hope and is brimming with cash.

　　"10年前，我们有史蒂夫·乔布斯, 鲍勃·霍普和约翰尼·卡什，现在呢，手头没有工作（乔布斯姓Jobs，意为工作），内里缺乏信心（霍普姓Hope，意为希望），腰包里也早就没钱（卡什姓Cash，意味现金）了"。

　　Its market capitalisation recently passed $500 billion, and it has a whopping $100 billion or so of cash on its balance-sheet.

　　是的，乔布斯永远地离开了苹果，但他给投资者留下了巨大的财富和希望：苹果市场总值超过5000亿美元，资产负债表显示库存现金约1000亿美元。

　　That mountain of money is about to get higher.

　　而且，这个"钱山"还会越堆越高。

　　Apple aficionados³ are poised⁴ to snap up the new gadgets⁵ that the company unveiled on March 7th. These include a new iPad, the latest in the firm's wildly popular range of tablet computers, and a revamped Apple TV device.

　　苹果迷已经蓄势待发抢购3月7日发布的新产品，如颇受追捧的掌上电脑即新一代IPAD，以及升级版的电视设备。

　　If the new iPad, which boasts a super-sharp screen and lightning-fast connectivity, wins friendly reviews, it will give a big boost to Tim Cook, Jobs's handpicked successor.

　　新一代IPAD装备了超高清屏幕，连通性如闪电一般迅速。如果新产品市场反应良好，这不仅是对于现任执行官蒂姆·库克的肯定，也会再次给苹果带来巨额利润。

　　But the extra cash it delivers will also increase pressure on Apple's boss and board to explain what they plan to do with the company's embarrassment⁶ of riches.

　　同时，"苹果公司老板和董事将如何处理这笔巨额财富"将成为舆论焦点，而也恰恰是尴尬之处。

　　Last month Mr Cook admitted that the firm has more cash than it needs for its operations. It's a nice problem to have.

　　上个月，库克先生曾承认苹果现有的现金流超出了运营日常业务所需，这是个让人高兴的"富贵病"。

　　The obvious solution would be to give cash back to shareholders, either via dividends⁸ or share buybacks.

　　最现成的方法，似乎是通过股息分红或股票回购把现金返还给股东，但这是个很敏感的话题。

　　This is a surprisingly sensitive subject. Mr Jobs was obsessed⁹ with hoarding¹⁰ cash, not least because of Apple's near-bankruptcy in the mid-1990s. Returning money to shareholders would mark a big departure from the revered¹¹ founder's philosophy.

　　鉴于上世纪90年代中期时苹果差点破产，所以前任执行官乔布斯推崇囤积现金，以备意外。因此，返现金给股东这个方法，很明显与这位备受尊敬的创始人的理念大相径庭。

　　Another reason Mr Cook will want to tread carefully is that some pundits¹² see a tech firm's decision to start paying dividends as a signal that its glory days are behind it.

　　除了这一点，现任执行官库克在处理这件事之所以小心翼翼，还有另外一个原因：某些权威认为，技术型企业一旦分红，即暗示该企业走向没落。

　　One oft-cited example is Microsoft, whose growth slowed after it began returning cash to shareholders in 2003.

　　一个经常提到的例子是微软：2003年，微软将部分现金流返还股东之后，发展逐渐变缓。

　　Apple is unlikely to suffer a similar fate.

　　苹果可不想走上这条路。

　　Demand for its iGizmos seems insatiable. That is why it needs to come up with ways to invest more of its cash sensibly.

　　人们对苹果的新发明似乎永远期待，这也是督促苹果一定要明智地投资这笔巨额现金流的压力来源。

　　Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies, a consulting firm, reckons Apple could ramp¹³ up its forward purchases of components¹⁴ and set up its own semiconductor¹⁵ factories, to give it a tighter grip on a critical link in its supply chain.

　　创意策略咨询公司的蒂姆·巴家瑞认为，苹果可以投资建设自家半导体工厂并提前购买电子元件。众所周知，半导体是电子产业供应链中重要一环，苹果正好可以借此牢牢把握这一点。

　　It could open more physical stores—though their sales would only add to its cash pile.

　　当然，也可以投资实体店——尽管实体店依然会再赚钱进来。

　　And it may have to fork out more on lawyers' fees to fight patent lawsuits¹⁶ and deal with other problems, including allegations that it colluded with publishers to fix the price of digital books.

　　最近苹果一直在打专利等官司，如被指控与出版社合谋操纵电子书价格，因此律师费也将是一笔值得考虑进来的支出。

　　On the acquisition front, the firm has long shunned¹⁷ megadeals, preferring to swallow smaller firms with technology and people it covets¹⁸.

　　那不如这样：趁有钱，多收购些公司扩大营收？如果关注过苹果你就会发现，它从未收购过大型公司。

　　That policy is unlikely to change, though Apple may well accelerate its deal-making tempo¹⁹.

　　相反，苹果会不时收购小型公司，以获取技术和人才。

　　Among its likely targets are firms that offer video and other entertainment content, and others with data that could enhance services such as Siri, its virtual personal assistant.

　　即使现在发展步伐加快，这一基本思想也很难改变，即搜寻研究影音技术、游戏服务以及一切其他能丰富苹果产品功能的小公司。这里的功能所指广泛，如虚拟个人助手Siri系统等等。

　　None of this would put much of a dent²⁰ in $100 billion.

　　这些支出跟1000亿美元相比，简直是"九牛一毛"。

　　So Apple will probably start handing cash back to shareholders later this year.

　　因此，苹果应该会在今年年底，将部分现金流返还给股东。

　　Working out how to do so will take time, not least because the firm holds much of its money outside America in order to avoid hefty US corporate-tax rates.

　　因为避税（指美国高额企业税）其所持有的现金很多不在美国本土，返现计划从计划到施行还需要一段时间。

　　Some Apple fans fret²¹ that if the company decides to pay regular dividends, it could end up regretting it.

　　不少苹果迷担心：定期发放红利将不是个明智的选择。

　　"Apple needs to watch out for dividend⁷ addicts," says Aswath Damodaran, a finance professor at New York University who owns Apple stock. Such shareholders, he adds, will be obsessed with extracting as much cash as possible from Apple rather than with its mission of making mind-blowing products.

　　来自纽约大学的金融学教授Aswath Damoaran是苹果的股东，他说："公司需要注意，发放股息返现将会吸引来不少过分追求红利的投资者，这群人所重视的，不是公司能否推出令人耳目一新的产品，而是尽可能地利用股息赚钱（如此追"红"逐"利"的股东大会可能会影响公司良性运转）。"

　　Perhaps. But the point of shares is that they confer ownership. They are valuable only because shareholders expect—and are entitled to—a share of profits.

　　也许吧，但各位别忘了，股票的性质之一就是凭证所有权，也正是因为股东相信股票并有权享有公司部分权益，它这才有了价值。

　　Apple may have trouble finding a good use for its cash, but its shareholders will not.

　　苹果公司会因如何妥善安排现金流而备受苦恼，但股东们却不会。

1 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

2 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

3 aficionados   

n.酷爱…者，…迷( aficionado的名词复数 )； 爱看斗牛的人

参考例句：

• West Coast aficionados of postwar coffee-shop architecture(Karal Ann Marling) 西海岸战后咖啡店式建筑的狂热追随者（卡拉尔安马林） 来自互联网
• Clay developed a radical style which appalled boxing aficionados. 克莱发展出一种震惊拳击迷的全新风格。 来自互联网

4 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

5 gadgets   

n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

6 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

7 dividend   

n.红利，股息；回报，效益

参考例句：

• The company was forced to pass its dividend.该公司被迫到期不分红。
• The first quarter dividend has been increased by nearly 4 per cent.第一季度的股息增长了近 4%。

8 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

9 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

10 hoarding   

n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• After the war, they were shot for hoarding. 战后他们因囤积而被枪决。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Actually he had two unused ones which he was hoarding up. 其实他还藏了两片没有用呢。 来自英汉文学

11 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

12 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

13 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

14 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

15 semiconductor   

n.半导体

参考例句：

• In the beginning,engineers hoped to use semiconductor lasers.在开始时，工程师们希望能够利用半导体激光器。
• The main agent of the company brand semiconductor sales.本公司主要代理各品牌半导体销售。

16 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

17 shunned   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
• He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 covets   

v.贪求，觊觎( covet的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It is the kind of TV news coverage every president covets. 所有总统都垂涎这类电视新闻报导。 来自互联网
• She covets her sister's house. 她对她姐姐的房子垂涎三尺。 来自互联网

19 tempo   

n.(音乐的)速度；节奏，行进速度

参考例句：

• The boss is unsatisfied with the tardy tempo.老板不满于这种缓慢的进度。
• They waltz to the tempo of the music.他们跟着音乐的节奏跳华尔兹舞。

20 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。

21 fret   

v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损

参考例句：

• Don't fret.We'll get there on time.别着急，我们能准时到那里。
• She'll fret herself to death one of these days.她总有一天会愁死的.