15 Companies with Zero Debt

Data source: SEC Filings, Capital IQ and Thomson Reuters  || Photo: Shutterstock Throughout the financial crisis, large debt loads weighed on company balance sheets and had serious implications for the firms that let their borrowing get out of control. Other companies, however, have a history of operating with low debt levels, and many choose to issue no debt at all. Instead of debt, these companies hold cash and short-term, highly liquid assets in order to make acquisitions and fund other investments in future growth. According to the latest quarterly filings, only 22 companies in the S&P 500 reported having zero debt on their balance sheets. Of these companies, CNBC’s Analyst Giovanny Moreano selected the ones with the largest amount of cash and short-term investments as a percent of total assets. The average return for the top 15 firms in the past year stands at 15 percent, compared with a gain of 2 percent for the S&P 500. So, which S&P 500 companies are debt free and cash rich? Click ahead to find out.By Giovanny Moreano&Paul ToscanoPosted 25 Jan 2012 Note: Total debt includes the sum of short-term borrowings, current portion of long-term debt, current portion of capital leases, long-term debt, capital leases, current finance division debt and non-current finance division debt, but does not include all possible liabilities. Cash holdings do not include long-term investments.

Photo: Getty Images Total debt: $0 Cash & ST investments: $145 million Total assets: $1.68 billion Cash as % of assets: 8.6% 1-year stock performance: 56.2% See FAST Real-Time Quote and Full Financial Data

Photo: C.H. Robinson | Facebook Total debt: $0 Cash & ST investments: $383 million Total assets: $2.17 billion Cash as % of assets: 17.6% 1-year stock performance: -13% See CHRW Real-Time Quote and Full Financial Data

Total debt: $0 Cash & ST investments: $557 million Total assets: $1.69 billion Cash as % of assets: 32.8% 1-year stock performance: 15.5% See FFIV Real-Time Quote and Full Financial Data

Photo: Ramim Talaie | Bloomberg | Getty Images Total debt: $0 Cash & ST investments: $775 million Total assets: $3.88 billion Cash as % of assets: 20% 1-year stock performance: 4.9% See CTXS Real-Time Quote and Full Financial Data

Photo: Lucidio Studio Inc | Getty Images Total debt: $0 Cash & ST investments: $808 million Total assets: $2.38 billion Cash as % of assets: 34% 1-year stock performance: +12.9% See RHT Real-Time Quote and Full Financial Data

Photo: LSI.com Total debt: $0 Cash & ST investments: $879 million Total assets: $2.27 billion Cash as % of assets: 38.7% 1-year stock price performance: 22.3% See LSI Real-Time Quote and Full Financial Data

Photo: AP Total debt: $0 Cash & ST investments: $1.01 billion Total assets: $3.84 billion Cash as % of assets: 26.2% 1-year stock performance: -9.0% See TROW Real-Time Quote and Full Financial Data

Photo: Autodesk.com Total debt: $0 Cash & ST investments: $1.34 billion Total assets: $3.01 billion Cash as % of assets: 44.7% 1-year stock performance: -12.8% See ADSK Real-Time Quote and Full Financial Data

Photo: Getty Images Total debt: $0 Cash & ST investments: $1.52 billion Total assets: $5.85 billion Cash as % of assets: 26.1% 1-year stock performance: +28.8% See BBBY Real-Time Quote and Full Financial Data

Photo: IntuitiveSurgical.com Total debt: $0 Cash & ST investments: $2.17 billion Total assets: $3.06 billion Cash as % of assets: 70.9% 1-year stock performance: +34.2% See ISRG Real-Time Quote and Full Financial Data

Photo: Getty Images Total debt: $0 Cash & ST investments: $2.205 billion Total assets: $6.92 billion Cash as % of assets: 31.8% 1-year stock performance: UNCH See FRX Real-Time Quote and Full Financial Data

Total debt: $0 Cash & ST investments: $2.29 billion Total assets: $5.1 billion Cash as % of assets: 44.9% 1-year stock performance: -4.2% See CTSH Real-Time Quote and Full Financial Data

Photo: AP Total debt: $0 Cash & ST investments: $4.39 billion Total assets: $9.67 billion Cash as % of assets: 45.4% 1-year stock performance: +43.4% See MA Real-Time Quote and Full Financial Data

Photo: Amazon.com Total debt: $0 Cash & ST investments: $6.32 billion Total assets: $19.05 billion Cash as % of assets: 33.2% 1-year stock performance: +5.7% See AMZN Real-Time Quote and Full Financial Data

Photo: Getty Images Total debt: $0 Cash & ST investments: $30.2 billion* Total assets: $116.37 billion Cash as % of assets: 22.3%1-year stock performance: 24.6% *Note: Apple has an additional $67.5 billion in long-term investments. See AAPL Real-Time Quote and Full Financial Data

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