Corporate America, led by the tech sector, is continuing to sit on a massive cash hoard, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

In a new report, the rating agency calculates that the U.S. non-financial companies it rates held US$1.73 trillion in cash at the end of 2014, up 4% from US$1.67 trillion a year earlier. The top 50 cash hoarders account for 63% of the total, or US$1.08 trillion, it notes.

Tech giant, Apple, continues to lead the way, holding US$178 billion in cash at the end of 2014, which represents 10.2% of total corporate cash. This is up from US$159 billion, or 9.7%, in December 2013. By itself, Apple now holds more cash than the total for every industry sector, except for tech and healthcare/pharmaceuticals, Moody’s says.

‘Among sectors, technology continues to hold the most cash, followed by healthcare/pharmaceuticals, consumer products and energy,’ says Moody’s senior vice president, Richard Lane. ‘The technology sector has extended its lead over the past year, with US$690 billion, or 40% of the total cash pile.’

In order, the top five cash holders are Apple, Microsoft, Google, Pfizer and Cisco. Moody’s notes that Cisco replaced Verizon in the top five during the past year. And, it reports that the top five companies now account for US$439 billion, or 25% of the total corporate cash pile, up from US$404 billion, or 24%, in 2013.

The majority of that cash is held overseas, Moody’s says, noting that this reflects ‘the tax consequences of permanently repatriating money to the U.S., and the domestic use of cash for dividends, share buybacks and the majority of acquisitions.’ It estimates that overseas cash totals US$1.1 trillion, or 64% of the total, up from its estimate of US$950 billion, or 58%, last year.

The firm also reports that capital spending (US$937 billion), dividends (US$394 billion), and share buybacks (US$289 billion) all reached record highs in 2014. Acquisition spending came in at US$322 billion, it notes; which was a 20% increase from 2013 levels, but this is more or less in line with 2011 and 2012 levels.

Looking ahead, Moody’s expects combined spending on capital investments, dividends, share buybacks and acquisitions in 2015 to be about the same as last year, or around US$1.9 trillion; notwithstanding an expected 30% decline in energy sector capital spending.