2. Financial engineering Symantec has been using its mountains of cash to fund its new product development. The company's revenue model generates very high gross margins -- 82.2% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. This helps the company maintain a strong cash position. Symantec typically generates cash flow equivalent to 25% of its revenue. The company finished fiscal 2014 with $3.7 billion cash vs. $2 billion in debt. Symantec expressed its intention to return 50% of its cash to shareholders in form of dividends. The company instituted its first dividend, and the shares now yield a healthy 2.7%.