Apple just borrowed $7.5 billion from bond investors, even though it closed its fiscal year with $136.9 billion in cash and marketable securities. The final pricing term sheet Apple filed with the SEC shows seven tranches of notes that priced on November 5 and settle on November 9.
Bloomberg News first reported that Apple was seeking about $7 billion, a report carried by Reuters. The finished deal came in $500 million larger than that. It also priced tighter. Bloomberg reported initial price talk of 80 basis points over Treasuries on the longest notes, and Apple’s term sheet shows those 10-year notes priced at just 55 basis points over.
Apple’s final term sheet lists seven tranches maturing between 2028 and 2036
Here is the full deal, taken straight from the term sheet and the prospectus supplement. All seven tranches mature on November 9 of the listed year.
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| Notes | Amount | Coupon | Spread to Treasuries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floating rate notes due 2028 | $500 million | SOFR plus 0.33% | n/a |
| Floating rate notes due 2029 | $750 million | SOFR plus 0.45% | n/a |
| Notes due 2028 | $1 billion | 4.650% | 22 basis points |
| Notes due 2029 | $1 billion | 4.750% | 27 basis points |
| Notes due 2031 | $1 billion | 4.900% | 35 basis points |
| Notes due 2033 | $1.25 billion | 5.100% | 45 basis points |
| Notes due 2036 | $2 billion | 5.350% | 55 basis points |
The 10-year notes are the biggest piece at $2 billion. Moody’s rates the deal Aaa and S&P rates it AA+, both with a stable outlook. Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities, Deutsche Bank Securities, J.P. Morgan, Barclays, HSBC and Morgan Stanley ran the books.
By our math, the five fixed-rate tranches alone will cost Apple about $314 million in interest every year. That is real money, but it is small next to a company that booked $139.7 billion in products gross margin in fiscal 2026, according to its annual report.
Why a company with $136.9 billion in cash still borrows from bond investors
Apple tells investors exactly where the money can go. The prospectus supplement puts net proceeds at about $7.47 billion and says Apple will use them for “general corporate purposes, including repurchases of our common stock and payment of dividends under our program to return capital to shareholders, funding for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions and repayment of debt.”
The 10-K shows how big those needs are. In fiscal 2026 alone, Apple:
- Bought back $85.8 billion of its own stock
- Paid $15.7 billion in dividends and dividend equivalents
- Repaid $12.4 billion of term debt
- Cut its commercial paper from $8.0 billion to $2.0 billion
Add the buybacks and dividends together and Apple returned $101.5 billion to shareholders in a single year. This bond sale covers less than one month of that pace. Apple also has $10.0 billion of notes coming due within the next 12 months, so part of the new cash can simply roll over old debt.
Borrowing at these rates is cheap for Apple. Its 2028 notes priced just 22 basis points above Treasuries, so lenders treat Apple almost like the US government. Selling bonds lets Apple keep funding buybacks without selling down the $100.6 billion it holds in current and non-current marketable securities.
Apple’s debt after this sale is still lower than it was a year ago
The prospectus supplement says Apple had $78.1 billion of unsecured senior notes and $2.0 billion of commercial paper outstanding as of September 26, 2026. Its capitalization table shows long-term debt rising from $68.2 billion to $75.7 billion once this deal settles.
That still sits below the $78.3 billion of non-current term debt Apple carried at the end of fiscal 2025. Apple has been paying down bonds faster than it issues them. Its cash flow statement shows zero new term debt in fiscal 2026, and Bloomberg’s report says Apple’s last bond sale was a $4.5 billion, four-part deal in May 2025 that drew $10 billion in orders.
What Apple’s $7.5 billion bond deal means for shareholders
If you own Apple stock, this is the machinery behind your shrinking share count. Apple’s shares outstanding fell from about 14.77 billion to 14.53 billion during fiscal 2026, which gives each remaining share a slightly bigger slice of profits. The board also has plenty of room left. The 10-K lists $14.0 billion still available under the May 2025 program plus a new $100 billion authorization announced in April 2026.
The dividend did not move in the latest quarter. Apple kept its quarterly payout at $0.27, so buybacks remain the main way Apple hands cash back. Fresh debt at around 5% keeps that program running at full speed after Apple posted record fourth-quarter revenue of $114.5 billion.
For iPhone and Mac buyers, the deal changes nothing on store shelves. It is a balance sheet move, and the filing ties the cash to shareholder returns and debt repayment, not to new products.
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