1. Why do companies have so much cash on their balance sheets?
2. Analyze the tradeoffs between returning cash to shareholders in form of dividends or buybacks and finding investment, growth or acquisition opportunities.
3. Why might a technology company like Apple want to hold more cash than a manufacturing company?
4. Companies only receive an infusion of cash when stock is sold for the first time in the primary market. All other trades occur between investors in the secondary market. If companies aren't getting the cash from sales in the secondary market, why do they care about stock prices?