Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) new Chief Executive Tim Cook seems the type who enjoys lurking in the background. For years, he has quietly but effectively undertaken some of Apple's biggest jobs including running the Macintosh business while allowing co-founder Steve Jobs to bask in the spotlight. With Jobs going on leave, Cook will have to step in front of the curtain again.He ran the show in 2004 when Jobs was treated for cancer. Bloomberg News describes Cook as a soft-spoken yet intense manager who, like his boss, does not suffer fools gladly.
But he is not going to be able to inspire the cult-like devotion of Jobs. Investors are understandably worried.
Jobs' health crisis could not come at a worse time for the Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple. The economy is slowing as are sales of computers. As the Wall Street Journal noted "IDC recently reported that world-wide computer shipments fell in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, the first year-to-year drop in six years." Sales of iPods are expected to decline, an indication of the maturity of the market.
Apple still has plenty going for it. The company's U.S. computer shipments rose 7.5% and its share of computer shipments rose to 7.2% from 6.4% a year earlier. It continues to have a rabidly loyal customer base including me.
But there is going to be a cloud over Apple for as long as Jobs' health is an issue.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-17-2009 @ 1:14AM
Beltway Greg said...
Forget all this funky stuff y'all The venerable rag, "The Times of India," and of course those of us that have been to India have had quite a few good times there indeed, but I digress. They are reporting that the IPhone is helping folks to get their freak on by changing the porn industry. Now follow me here because I'm not really sure how the porn industry has changed over the years. Oh yeah, Betty Page and all that jazz but it's still pretty much a bored house wife and a plumber who has come to fix the drains if you get my drift. Anyway, the IPhone allows us to indulge in every man's fantasy and jump ahead to the money shot.
And kids if this doesn't shut you up in regard to Steve well, you just can't be shut-up. Earnings next week $1.71. Can you smell what Tim's cookin'?