Former Apple CEO John Sculley discusses the way forward for the expertise firm amid management modifications and the rise of synthetic intelligence on ‘The Claman Countdown.’
Apple CEO Tim Cook dinner says he’s stepping down after 15 years as chief government as a result of three key elements aligned: Apple’s present efficiency, its product roadmap and the readiness of his successor, John Ternus.
Cook dinner mentioned the timing got here all the way down to a transparent inner evaluation of the corporate’s place and future.
“I checked out three issues,” Cook dinner instructed FOX Enterprise. “I seemed on the efficiency of the corporate within the first half, and it’s been exceptional. I wished to announce at a cut-off date the place our roadmap was unimaginable, and so there can be some nice issues taking place sooner or later. And I wished to announce at a time that John was prepared, and John is prepared. And so all three of these issues intersected, and it felt to me like the best time.”
APPLE CEO TIM COOK TO STEP DOWN IN MAJOR LEADERSHIP SHAKEUP, SUCCESSOR NAMED
Tim Cook dinner (R) will change into Apple’s government chairman and John Ternus will change into Apple CEO on Sept. 1, 2026. (Reuters)
Apple introduced final week that Cook dinner will step down as CEO on Sept. 1 and transition to government chairman. Ternus, Apple’s head of {hardware} engineering, will take over as the corporate’s subsequent chief government.
Cook dinner is coming into the ultimate stretch of his CEO tenure with a document second quarter. Apple income jumped 17%, forward of analyst estimates, whereas iPhone gross sales elevated 22% from a yr earlier. Cook dinner mentioned iPhone gross sales might have been even stronger if not for provide constraints that restricted availability.
The struggle in Iran can be affecting Apple’s enterprise, Cook dinner mentioned, creating strain on each income and prices.
WHO IS JOHN TERNUS, SET TO SUCCEED TIM TOOK AS APPLE’S CEO?
Apple workers assist clients on the Fifth Avenue Apple Retailer on new product launch day on Sept. 19, 2025 in New York Metropolis. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Photos)
“It creates each income strain, as you’d guess, within the area, and it creates enter prices the world over,” Cook dinner mentioned. Oil costs have risen to their highest degree in 4 years amid provide disruptions within the Center East and issues across the Strait of Hormuz.
| Ticker | Safety | Final | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 271.20 | +1.03 | +0.38% |
LEADERSHIP CHANGE AT APPLE SPARKS INDUSTRY AND WALL STREET REACTIONS AS COOK TRANSITIONS ROLES
Cook dinner additionally addressed investor issues that Apple is perceived to be behind within the synthetic intelligence race, as some Silicon Valley rivals spend way more aggressively on AI infrastructure.
“In case you take a look at our year-over-year progress, we’ve actually ramped considerably,” Cook dinner mentioned, including that Apple makes use of “a hybrid mannequin” that features “each our personal information facilities and different folks’s information facilities.”
Tim Cook dinner succeeded Steve Jobs as CEO in 2011. (Alyssa Pointer/Reuters)
Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Alphabet have collectively forecast greater than $700 billion in spending this yr, with a lot of that funding directed towards AI information facilities.
Requested how vital AI is in his day-to-day priorities, Cook dinner mentioned it’s “on the prime of my record, as a result of I see it as an enormous alternative for us and what we ship to our customers.”
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One other challenge weighing on Apple buyers is the surge in reminiscence chip costs, which have climbed roughly 500% since final August. Cook dinner mentioned Apple’s reminiscence prices have been increased within the March quarter and are mirrored within the firm’s gross margin.
Apple has yet one more earnings report earlier than Cook dinner’s CEO tenure ends on Sept. 1. Throughout his 15-year run as CEO, Apple returned practically 2,000% to shareholders and elevated its market worth by greater than 1,000%.
