Apple CEO Tim Cook announced on May 13 that he plans to retire in September 2026, timing his departure to coincide with the launch of the iPhone 17 and the Apple Intelligence AI platform. Cook, 65, has served as CEO since August 2011, succeeding Steve Jobs and overseeing the company's transformation from a $350 billion hardware maker into a $4.6 trillion services-and-AI juggernaut.
Despite the significance of the announcement, Apple shares actually gained 2.8% on the day to close at $301.40, suggesting that the market views the succession as well-planned and the company's trajectory as independent of any single executive. COO Jeff Williams, who has run Apple's operations and health initiatives, is widely viewed as the leading internal candidate.
What happened
Cook made the announcement during an internal all-hands meeting that was subsequently confirmed in an SEC filing. He stated that he had been planning the transition for over two years and that the board has been actively engaged in succession planning. The September timing is deliberate -- Cook wants to oversee the launch of the iPhone 17 and the initial rollout of Apple Intelligence before handing the reins to his successor. The board has not formally named a successor, but Bloomberg reported that COO Jeff Williams, 62, has been effectively running day-to-day operations for the past 18 months and is the overwhelming internal favorite. Other candidates mentioned include Craig Federighi (SVP of Software Engineering) and John Ternus (SVP of Hardware Engineering).
Why it matters
Tim Cook's tenure transformed Apple more profoundly than most investors appreciate. Under Cook, Apple's revenue more than tripled from $108 billion to $415 billion, and its market cap grew 13-fold from $350 billion to $4.6 trillion. More importantly, Cook orchestrated the strategic pivot from hardware dependency to a services-led model, with services revenue now approaching $100 billion annually at margins above 70%. His retirement creates both continuity risk and opportunity -- the market needs to believe that the services flywheel and AI integration strategy will continue regardless of who sits in the CEO chair.