Jim Cramer: Hyperscalers ‘Wrecked Their Balance Sheets’, But Apple Carries Twice Alphabet’s Debt

On Tim Cook's final day as CEO of Apple, Jim Cramer commended the company's balance sheet as pristine while cautioning against hyperscalers that have heavily leveraged themselves to fund artificial intelligence data center infrastructure. Although Apple closed FY2025 with $112.377 billion in total debt compared to Alphabet's $59.291 billion, Apple's financial health is bolstered by substantial liquidity. Apple maintains $39.544 billion in cash alongside $84.118 billion in long-term investments, keeping its net debt-to-EBITDA ratio at an attractive 0.528. In contrast, Alphabet's long-term debt jumped to $98.165 billion by mid-2026 to finance 2026 capital expenditures projected between $175 billion and $185 billion, resulting in negative quarterly free cash flow and a suspended buyback program. Equity markets have rewarded Apple's disciplined capital return strategy, pushing its stock up 16.87% year to date with a price-to-earnings multiple of 42x, compared to Alphabet's 8.56% gain and 14x multiple. However, analysts note that as incoming CEO John Ternus takes charge, any acceleration in proprietary AI infrastructure buildouts could create friction with Apple's extensive share repurchase program.