Apple Inc., the world's most valuable business, led U.S. corporations in amassing a record $1.24 trillion of cash last year as memories of the 2008 credit crisis linger, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Excluding Apple, with $97.6 billion of cash and no outstanding debt, the figure was relatively unchanged at $1.15 trillion, even as revenue and cash flow from operations rose to a record, Moody's analysts led by Richard Lane said in a report yesterday. Investment-grade companies graded A3 or higher by Moody's hold $594.3 billion, or 54 percent, Moody's said in the report, which tracked cash and liquid investments for non-financials.

"Treasurers have distinct memories of capital markets closing very quickly, and I think companies in general are more focused on controlling their fate from a funding standpoint and part of that means being able to internally fund your investment needs," Lane said in a telephone interview. Still, "there's a large and growing use of the cash that these companies generated over the last handful of years."