Apple CEO Tim Cook Steps Down

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced he will step down and John Ternus will become Apple’s chief executive officer on September 1, 2026. (apple.com) Apple said Cook will move to the role of executive chairman and will remain CEO through the summer to work with Ternus during the transition. (apple.com) John Ternus, currently Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering and a 25-year company veteran, will join Apple’s board when he becomes CEO; Arthur Levinson will become lead independent director. (bloomberg.com) Cook has led Apple since 2011; under his roughly 15-year tenure the company’s market value rose by multiple trillions of dollars. (apnews.com) Markets showed a muted but mixed response: Yahoo Finance reported Apple shares fell about 2.7% on Tuesday, while Reuters said shares declined less than 1% in late trading after the announcement. (finance.yahoo.com) In the company statement Cook praised Ternus’s engineering record and said he looked forward to working closely with him; Ternus said he was “humbled to step into this role.” (apple.com) Analysts and reporters flagged immediate questions about product direction and Apple’s positioning in the artificial-intelligence era, and noted the move follows recent senior-level turnover at the company. (usnews.com) The board unanimously approved the succession plan and set September 1, 2026 as the effective date for Ternus to assume the CEO role; Cook will assist with policy and board matters as executive chairman. (apple.com)