Apple Shares Surge 1,900%, Tim Cook to Step Down as CEO
CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, will step down from his position at the technology company. He leaves behind an impressive legacy after successfully growing the company to achieve a market capitalisation of US$4 trillion from less than US$350 billion 15 years ago.
Tim Cook will retire after Apple’s share price has rocketed by 1,900%.
His successor, John Ternus, will face significant challenges. He will bring a new focus on hardware as Apple prepares for the artificial intelligence (AI) era.
Citing Market Watch, Tim Cook’s resignation plan will take effect on 1 September 2026, at which point he will become the company’s executive chairman. The CEO position will be filled by John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering.
This means Ternus will face major challenges as he takes over leadership of the world’s second-largest company. He must position Apple as a formidable force in artificial intelligence while addressing supply chain constraints plaguing the consumer electronics industry.
It is known that investors are greatly disappointed with the launch of Apple Intelligence, which is considered messy; it was first announced in 2024 but has been repeatedly delayed. Apple is expected to introduce a fully revamped Siri in September, powered by Google’s Gemini model.
Nevertheless, this leadership change may signal a greater focus on hardware for Apple going forward.
“Although executive changes at Apple are rare, we believe appointing John Ternus as CEO makes sense given the company’s history of leadership rooted in its core hardware business, particularly the iPhone,” wrote Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani in his note to clients.
Meanwhile, Forrester analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee opined that under Ternus’s leadership, Apple has the potential to lead the development of new device forms for the AI era.
“While Cook has kept Apple’s growth steady, he has not led breakthrough innovations that could transform Apple’s competitive position for the next two decades, as [Steve] Jobs did with the iPhone,” he said.
For information, Ternus joined Apple’s product design team in 2001, playing a key role in the launch of the iPad, AirPods, and many other products. Recently, Ternus oversaw the launch of Apple’s affordable laptop, the MacBook Neo, which was met with high enthusiasm from consumers.
As Apple pursues new designs for the iPhone, the company is confronted with soaring component costs due to demand for memory chips from AI data centres exceeding supply.
Companies now face difficult choices, such as raising prices for customers or reducing memory capacity in devices. However, for Apple to successfully roll out Apple Intelligence to its entire existing user base, its devices require robust memory to support AI workloads.
The challenges Ternus will face were also experienced by Cook when he took over leadership from legendary CEO Steve Jobs. Cook directed the growth of Apple’s services business, expanding the company beyond its hardware roots. He also placed intense focus on Apple’s supply chain, thanks to his prior experience as the company’s head of operations.