“Five years ago this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook was handed an unenviable task — taking the helm of the company from terminally ill founder Steve Jobs, one of the iconic personalities of the age,” Harriet Taylor reports for CNBC.
“Even though the company has had significant successes in those five years — nearly a billion iPhones sold and both revenue and profits more than doubling — Cook’s legacy is likely to be defined more by what he does in the next five years, analysts say,” Taylor reports. “Though Cook has yet to prove he can be as innovative as the charismatic Jobs, he has successfully steered the franchise and maintained its position as the world’s most valuable company. ‘Historically, founder-led companies go through existential crises after the founder is gone,’ said Asymco analyst Horace Dediu. ‘The fact that Apple didn’t implode, but has grown, means mission accomplished.'”
“Apple’s stock is up 105 percent since Cook stepped into the CEO role, but has slid 3 percent over the past year. The S&P 500 is up 88 percent and 11 percent in those respective periods,” Taylor reports. “In Apple’s most recent quarterly results, revenue declined 14.6 percent — a second quarterly decline following 13 years of growth. With this shift, Cook’s legacy hangs in the balance… Under Cook, Apple has released one entirely new product: Apple Watch. The device has delivered billions of dollars in revenue, opened up an entirely new product category, and laid the groundwork for the company to deliver wellness and health services. ‘They took a risk with Apple Watch, which I think is a phenomenal product,’ said Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We can hardly wait to see what the next five years brings!
Think of it, in the next half a decade, we might even see a new Mac Pro! 😉
Five long years. At this pace my 2012 27″ iMac will still be vaible if thjngs dong change. And i am good with that. I dont replace my fridge every two years either.
The problem is that those of us who use our computers for work need certainty and reliability. My work computers are have reached the end of their lives and I have to replace them. But I cannot because apple are selling two to three old tech (for tomorrow’s prices). The issues with my computer hardware are affecting my productivity – but I do not want to sink new money on old machines. So rather than Apple helping me to be productive, it is doing the opposite, trapping me in old hardware.
I am fortunate not to have invested time and effort in Pages. The change in that software would have disrupted my workflows, caused problems with file compatibility and, again, would have complicated and aggravated my work rather than simplified it. For all that is bad about Microsoft, at least I have been able to use MS Word for 15 years without any significant issues or disruptions.
So that is why some of us are really frustrated with apple. It is not enough for Schiller to state “innovation my ass”, for Apple then to sit on it for nearly three or four years – whilst HP and Dell push out updated hardware that runs quicker and smoother. Having tried to persuade others to buy Apple for years, I have been unable to do so for the past 12 months and have come to the realisation that I can no longer rely on Apple, that it is no longer a reliable provider of services.
That disappoints me. And not in a small way.
Two to three year old tech
Tim Cook, the man responsible for THE most boring line of Mac computers since the Performa era.
If the CEO doesnt want to improve and promote the Mac line, then FIRE HIM!
I can see why you chose Birdseed as your onscreen name. It’s very appropriate for a bird brain.
“Under Cook [5 years], Apple has released one entirely new product: Apple Watch”
Under Jobs it took Apple 7 years (after the iPod) to launch the iPhone.
Are there more charismatic CEZZOs that Cook, but none I’d prefer over Cook (including Jobs). Doubling the revenue and profits of a Fortune 100 company is an accomplishment achieved be very, very few CEOs. Doubling revenue and profits of the world’s largest, wealthiest tech company has never been done before.
Only short sighted idiots will be unable to understand this.
You do realise that the idea and R & D behind the iPhone and iPad came in the 1990’s.
During the iPod era, there were a number of changes and innovations to the iPods.
The first iPod Nano WAS the first device that put 1000 songs in your pocket.
Also, during those times, we had the new iMacs with the snowball base and desk lamp style arm and display.
Also, Apple had the G line of PowerMacs. First with the transluscent cases, and the aluminum cased G5 models which were the pinnacle of the G line PowerMacs.
The whole BIG SWITCH to Intel CPU powered Macs!!!
You remember that!
The new flat panel iMac lineup (both the plastic and aluminum cased models)
Constant innovation of the MacBook mobile line of computers.
Apple was plenty busy with lots of nnovation throughout 2000-2010!
@ greggthurman, again.
I didn’t take seven years AFTER the iPod to come out with the iPhone.
The first iPod was in 2001-2002 and the iPod line up lasted until 2007 whereby Apple released the first iPhone (which the whole iPhone/iPad concept was, probably, in R & D since in the 1990’s and, more than likely, during Steve Jobs come back to Apple.
Jobs said himself, that they could’ve released the iPad, first, in 2007. In 2005-2006, Jobs made the executive decision to shake up the whole wireless phone industry and release the iPhone first. The iPad was just waiting in the wings to be introduced in 2010 and gave Apple more time to get some additonal kinks out of the iPad (like one of the BIGGEST of the kinks…Adobe Flash Player/Reader being excised).
Won’t forgive dumping Aperture. Really stupid decision. $150 billion or so in cash and can’t update Aperture? I sold 150 Mac Pros as an Apple VAR in Video and Photo. Own and manage 15 Macs. Have 2 new 2013 Mac Pros, 1 2012 tower, new Retina 15 Macbook Pro, and a 17″ 2011. All bought to keep running as long as possible. Will not load them with any OS that doesn’t run Aperture. At least until something with an asset manager just as good comes along. This was a definite shot in the foot, Mr. Cook. A lot of very upset photographers. Photos is a joke, A shoebox for digital snapshots for teenagers and Grandma. iOS everything to death. You lost a big customer with me. Nice phone, computers, meh. Pretty though.
Yes i like aperture. It could have been enhanced and be dine with it. Same as FCP and other pro aps
Almost 20 years ago (on the AOL Apple Forum) I stated that Apple could (should?) dump its focus on the creative pro in favor of the greater consumer computer market. At the time Macs held a 2% market share IN THE US, and virtually none worldwide.
The uproar on the Forum was instantaneous and deafening.
The creative pro still amounts top about 1% of the computer market, while the consumer market represents about 70% and the enterprise about 30%. As a group “teenagers and Grandma” buy many more Macs than do pro creatives.
If you don’t like the direction of Cook’s Apple go buy something else, your 1% market share will hardly be missed. But i’ll bet you don’t, because, for all your whining, there isn’t anything better, and you know it.
Apple dumping Aperture without having something that was its replacement was a really stupid move by Apple.
That stated, you CAN elect to still run the last updated version of Aperture, 3.6.1 and it still runs on OS X 10.11 El Capitán.
Famous Phil Schiller quote at an Apple after introducing the waste basket Mac Pro-
“Innovation dead? My ass….”
Well, Phil?
Tim Cook has done a good job.
The Apple board is not an especially sentimental group. They would have arranged a polite exit for Tim otherwise.
Apple has the money and the strategy to keep bringing us great products for a long time.
Money and strategy is not enough
well i you are reffering to inventiveness and inovation….keep in mind those things dont grow on trees..
they come from human brains… good human brains costs money… the better the brain the more the cost…
so money is definitly a huge part.
Cook is one of the most amazing and capable CEOs on this planet !
He has become one of the most POLARIZING CEOs on the planet, if the opinions expressed here are at all representative.
he is only polorizing becouse of being compared to a religouse figure , Steve Jobs… who’s charisma made people blind to his screwups.
Tim does not have that luxury.
He indeed has a very thankless job… thanks to the fanatical view of who and what Steve was.
Let me clarify.. im am not belittling Steve at all ( i recognize his genius and flaws)
I’m just aware enough to know he was not perfect and not everything he did was perfect, he did not invent everything, almost nothing in the big picture , and apple in his tenior did not pop out revolutionary products every year. …..
Tim has been at the helm at Apple long befor Steve passed… (due to Steves health).
Tim has been the reason for apples massive profitability even during Jobs times!
Steve Found him to be the best guy for the CEO position.
Apple’s market cap/stock has doubled in Tims Watch.
Tim has only been in his official ceo position and in the public eye for 5 years!
Steve has/had a history of 30 years and was associated with the invention of Personal computers…( Wuz, \Xrox were the actual ones imo)..
The problem is the blindness and rant of Steve fanatics…. who go on defaming and belittling Tim to satisfy their fanatism.
To all you complainers:
If Tim ever leaves.. Apple stock will crash like u have never seen…….
or you tell me who would do a better Job !;)
If you mostly care about the stock price, Tim has been great. If you care about having a powerful computer where the software won’t be ripped out from under you and things are constantly obsoleted by annual OS updates (mostly to make them more like your iPhone) then not so much. You have a broad spectrum of users Tim, and a lot more than 1% of them are professionals. Although if you keep this path up you might just achieve it. They provide the programming for the people who can only consume it (and pay for it on iTunes).
MDN take: LOL, thanks!