Google Now Has $50 Billion in Cash for Acquisitions and Investments

Next time you wonder how Google can afford to buy dozens of startups every year, consider just how much money it has on hand.

The search giant's cash pile grew to just more than $50 billion in the March quarter, up from $48.1 billion at the end of 2012, the company revealed in its first quarter earnings report on Thursday. That's still less than half as much cash as Apple has, but it will likely serve as a powerful resource for Google to continue buying up technology and top talent from companies, as well as investing in so-called "moonshot" projects.

As Google's chairman Eric Schmidt pointed out during a Q&A session at AllThingsD's Dive Into Mobile conference earlier this week, he is not a fan of companies holding onto an excess amount of cash. "What I really think about tech companies and cash is that there is a point where you have enough cash that you need to either start investing that stuff or lowering your prices," he said. Simply letting the cash pile grow, he says, would be a "missed opportunity for investment." Read more...