A friend of mine , 15 years ago (ios 3), already predicted that the only reason why apple would stash that amount of cash was if they planned on turning into a bank.
At a certain size every company becomes a bank. Once a company can do its own banking like things it doesn’t make sense to pay anyone else. It’s somewhat like rich people who can self insure.
Like Ticketmaster? Aren't they just a cash holding business? You buy a ticket for a concert 18 months in the future, they hold the cash doing whatever to preserve it and grow it, then settle up with all interested parties 18 months later?