Apple as a stock

I think its way more important to look at the Business instead as a stock. My question to you is whether Apple has been extremely innovative in their technological hardware and software pursuit in the recent years or foreseeable future? Gone were the days when Apple released something groundbreaking instead of adding new re-iterations of same hardware.

Remember a share price always follows the business performance in the long run.

When we look at the balance sheet of a company, it is not just so simple as Cash< debt = high debt

Matured companies have high earnings compared to debt, we can use Low Debt to EBITDA for this. I look for <3

The interest loan of the debt may be so Low that it makes more sense not to pay off the debt because the company can earn so much more than the interest accumulates. We can use high interest coverage for this. I look for >3

AAPL meets both criterias and can be deemed to have conservative debt and no need to hold so much cash.

You can also look for Low Debt-Equity ratio. Simply put Low debt compared to net assets they have

Take note these characteristics tend to be the after effect of wide economic moats and not the cause of it. Hence more common in mature companies while early adopters companies that are in early stages tend not to have such financial numbers. These are companies that tend to focus on holding more cash than debt amongst other financial figures