- General
- April 21, 2026
- 3 minutes read
Longtime Apple CEO Tim Cook to Step Down
Tim Cook, the chief executive of tech giant Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) since 2011, has announced plans to step down and…
Tim Cook, the chief executive of tech giant Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) since 2011, has announced plans to step down and transition to a board Chairman role. He’ll step down effective September 1, 2026, to be replaced by John Ternus, Apple’s current hardware chief.
Cook took over in 2011 from Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs. Under his leadership, Apple’s revenue surged from $108bn in fiscal 2011 to $416bn in 2025, driven by robust iPhone sales and record revenue from services like Apple Music, iCloud, App Store, and Apple Pay. In fiscal 2025, Apple reported $109bn in revenue from services alone, slightly more than its entire sales in 2011.
- Since 2011, Apple’s market capitalization has surged from around $350bn to $4 trillion currently.
Although Tim Cook’s tenure has been marked by remarkable financial metrics, Apple has struggled to deliver a ‘killer’ product in the artificial intelligence (AI) era. It has integrated AI systems, particularly Apple Intelligence, into its hardware and software services, but adoption hasn’t kept pace with competitors like OpenAI, Google, and Meta.
Cook is handing over to Ternus to lead Apple into a new AI-centric era. Ternus has been senior vice president (SVP) of hardware engineering since 2021, reporting directly to Cook. He joined Apple as a product design engineer in 2001.
Analysts will closely watch Ternus’s ability to maintain Apple’s dominance amid tough AI competition. Some hope for Apple to reduce its dependence on the iPhone, which currently brings in half of its revenue.
Over the years, Apple has released hardware products that became hits (the AirPods and Apple Watch), but some, like the Vision Pro, have struggled to gain traction. Record services revenue has also helped Apple reduce its reliance on the iPhone.
- In September, Cook will replace Arthur Levinson, Apple’s board chairman for the past 15 years. Levinson will become Apple’s lead independent director as Cook takes up the executive chairman role.
