Apple shares edge lower as Cook steps aside and hardware chief Ternus named CEO
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The news: Apple shares slipped 0.60% in after-hours trading on Monday after the company announced Tim Cook would step down as CEO in September after 15 years, with hardware engineering chief John Ternus named as his successor.
Ternus, 50, has spent 25 years at Apple and will take over as CEO on 1 September, the company said in a statement. Cook, 65, will become executive chairman, with Art Levinson stepping down from the chairman role to become lead director. Cook joined Apple in 1998 and became CEO in 2011.
The context: One of Ternus’s central accomplishments was leading the transition of Mac computers from Intel chips to Apple’s own silicon, after which Mac sales soared, the WSJ noted.
His hardware engineering division is expected to be taken over by longtime deputy Tom Marieb, according to Bloomberg, reporting to newly named chief hardware officer Johny Srouji.
The transition is being read as a shift from a supply chain-focused leader to one steeped in design and products, Reuters noted. “He (Ternus) is without question the right person to lead Apple into the future,” Cook said in a statement.
What they said: “These will be big shoes to fill and the timing of Cook exiting stage left as CEO could make sense but also creates questions,” Dan Ives, senior analyst at Wedbush posted on X. “Apple is making a major transition on its AI strategy and longtime CEO and legendary Cook leaving now is a surprise. We agree with Ternus as the pick.”
The sources: Apple, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal
