“Google/Apple invest their cash hoard very conservatively, in things like short-term treasuries, because of which their returns are very low”

This is actually wrong.

Apple alone wholly owns one of the world’s largest investment funds - Braeburn Capital - that actively manages over $270b of Apples assets leveraging very sophisticated investment strategies.

The extent to which managing its cash is now a value-add part of Apple’s business is well outlined in the tongue-in-cheek article from WSJ “Apple Is a Hedge Fund That Makes Phones”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/apple-...