Earlier this month, the influential Wired magazine published a piece titled "Has Steve Jobs Lost his Magic?" In it, reporter Leander Kahney pointed out that Steve Jobs usually gives his keynote speeches solo, but at Apple's annual developers' conference in California, "he shared presenting duties with three of his lieutenants, leaving the stage whenever they took turns to get up and talk."
Just recently, it was announced that Mr. Jobs will not be giving a keynote at the Apple Expo Conference in Paris next month. Seb Janacek, who writes for Silicon.com, pointed out in a MacDailyNews article today that, "keynote speeches are traditionally a Steve Jobs affair, so much so that some sections of the Mac community and press call them 'Stevenotes.'" Janacek also went on to point out that news reporters and bloggers were "alarmed by the appearance of the listless Mr. Jobs, claiming he appeared gaunt and exhausted."
Is Mr. Jobs slowing down? Should AAPL shareholders and evangelists be worried? My take is that with the addition of Google CEO Dr. Eric Schmidt to Apple's Board of Directors, along with the new executive talents like marketing chief Phil Schiller, the company will remain in good shape even if Mr. Jobs were to reduce his role.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-02-2006 @ 2:54PM
duncan said...
in a word, no. jobs isn't stepping down anytime soon, while his keynote appearance was odd this time around you could just as easily assume that jobs was in the middle of a much more interesting project/negotiation and didn't have the time he usually does to prepare for his keynotes.
as for paris, steve often misses paris. if there's nothing to announce why bother going all the way to europe? with the advent of the "special events" the paris expo is becoming less and less important to apple.
9-03-2006 @ 11:12PM
Michael "WAXIE" Parness said...
There is a rumor that Steve Jobs' cancer has returned and he is in pretty poor health.
Anyone who thinks that if Steve Jobs left the company AAPL's stock price and its future would be harmed is foolish. Even companies that are much less aligned with a CEO's image and vision get hammered when their CEO steps aside, or worse.
AAPL is as much an image as anything else. Yes, the products are decent, but this has always been Steve Jobs baby and AAPL trades at a stupid multiple given their industry and projected earnings growth. What AAPL is is a buy the rumor, sell the news stock. It's much more of a story than anything else. AAPL trades at roughly 32 X's earnings. In their industry thats borderline lunatic. Why do they trade there? Because the perception that their CEO, yes STEVE JOBS, will continue his vision-quest. The STORY will continue. Steve Jobs gone? Sorry, but even if the stock were to hold up inititally, you can bet your bottom dollar it won't hold up for long. AAPL would see sub-$50 and maybe sub-$40 within 6 - 12 months. Mark it down.
See ya on the other side,
Michael "Waxie" Parness
CEO Trendfund.com