“Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs took a leave of absence as a rare form of cancer he’s been battling since 2004 and a more recent liver transplant worsened his health, a person with knowledge of the matter said,” Adam Satariano, Peter Burrows and Joseph Galante report for Bloomberg. “Jobs has been unable to keep on weight as he undergoes treatment, said the person, who requested anonymity because the matter is private.”
MacDailyNews Take: Make that “was.”
Satariano, Burrows and Galante report, “The announcement that Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook will handle day-to-day operations came yesterday, preceding the first-quarter earnings report due at today’s market close. Apple is projected to report profit of $5.39 a share on sales of $24.4 billion, the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. ‘2011 is already in the bag,’ said Michael Binger, a fund manager at Thrivent Asset Management, which holds Apple stock. ‘My guess is it’ll be a blowout.'”
“For the past few weeks, Jobs had been coming into the office once or twice a week, and has been susceptible to colds and flu because of his weak health, the person familiar said,” Satariano, Burrows and Galante report. “A former employee who saw Jobs in the past two months said the executive looked thin. Still, yesterday’s announcement came as a surprise to some senior managers who had grown accustomed to Jobs’s unpredictable work schedule, according to a manager at a company that does business with Apple.”
“‘Apple missed an opportunity to hand the day-to-day responsibility to another executive’ earlier on, with Jobs focusing on broader ideas and design while taking care of his health, Michael Obuchowski, chief investment officer at First Empire Asset Management in Hauppage, New York, said in an e- mail,” Satariano, Burrows and Galante report. “‘I am worried that the current decision to keep Steve Jobs as CEO is another mistake.'”
Satariano, Burrows and Galante report, “Jobs disclosed he was taking time off on Jan. 14, 2009, and Apple announced he was back at work on June 29 that year. From Jan. 15 until his return, the shares rose 70 percent.”
Full article here.
How can anyone who lives in a state where they have In n Out Burger lose weight? Im kidding of course.
Get well Steve.
I’ll reserve my judgment until the vultures at the Bloomberg chime in with their opinions. Meanwhile, can someone please write up an eulogy for Connie Guglielmo and accidentally publish it? The earnings report later today may hasten their untimely death. Nah.. but that shouldn’t deter anyone from step in with a premature obituary.
Missed an opportunity? What part of the words “blowout earnings does the analyst quoted in this article not understand?
The jackals are out in force this morning. Perhaps some day in the future will the jackals finally comprehend the true impact of Steve Jobs and his legacy. There will never be another visionary entrepreneur like him.
My best to Steve and his family. I hope he is not suffering.
Steve, we wish you and your family the very best.
Onward and upward!!!
All the best, Steve.
Would you please leave the guy alone already? He asked for privacy, and you’re not helping!
Find something else to write about, you insensitive jerk.
It always fascinates me when people actually believe that one man can rule a public corporation as large as Apple.
I’m certain that Steve Jobs has been very instrumental in the success of the company, however, Apple is being run by a very strong management team. The good news is that This type of organization breeds creativity and it is very likely to attract a visionary with even more creativity than Steve Jobs. No disrespect, but that would be the highest compliment you could pay to Steve Jobs.
I’m sorry for Steves health issues, however, he’s a VERY smart man and did not build an organization to fail. Hopefully Steve will be okay and I’m certain Apple will be just fine.
That said, “thank you” Steve and we wish you well in your medical leave of abscence and look forward to your return!!
Whatever happened with the privacy request??? MDN you are acting like a hit whore , cut it out.
@bluejay,
If you write MDN (Steve Jack), he’ll just tell you that anytime anyone in the media mentions Apple, Steve Jobs, et al., they (he) will report it.
Steve, you are a hero…hell, a Super Hero! I wish you the very best. You WILL get better. I just hope the hurdles are small ones.
LEAVE THIS MAN IN PEACE SO HE CAN RECOVER!! HOW HARD IS THAT TO UNDERSTAND.
I am not reading one more report on his health until he recovers.
@Keith
Yep, I agree. Jobs has been a great leader for Apple, but among the most important things he has done, is to surround him self with top executive talent that execute at the very top of there ability. This is why Apple is in the position that it is today. I am sure other companies have great innovative ideas, but an idea with out perfect execution is just that, a good idea. Excellence is what Jobs has expected, and it is it’s legacy. Apple will keep on this path as long as excellence is paramountly required by the Apple corporate culture.
Face up to the fact that Steve may love Apple but that it’s time for him to go and really retire to be with his family. He’s never regained the weight and he never will.
The stress is taking a toll on Jobs and I’d rather see him retire at the top of his game and alive, than hurt himself pushing it too hard at Apple.
Some times you just have to know when to fold them. All the best Steve.
Sarah, for some people doing what they love gives them energy, heals, and gives them a reason to live. It is up to Steve Jobs and no one else to determine when it’s “time to fold them.”
Well said, Keith.
To SJ: All the best to you and your family.
I say instead of hang around with Bono, steve needs to hang with Kevin James….
I bought my call option this morning. Figured that earnings report won’t suppress the stock any further at this point. Who knows, maybe “blowout earnings” WON’T hurt the stock this time…
As long as the vision is maintained and nurtured across future generations of Apple management, then most of what is “good” and has made Apple successful over the past decade or so will continue. Certainly there will be a significant impact from eventually losing someone with such drive and focus. But his legacy will live.
In the meantime, SJ is still with us and, hopefully, has many years to go.
As a medical researcher (not a doctor), I have a fair grasp of medical fundamentals. The weight loss and the persistent susceptibility to infection diseases suggests more strongly that the issue isn’t a reoccurrence of his pancreatic cancer.
The observations are consistent with a fairly common setback with liver transplants: organ rejection. Faced with a distressed liver due to rejection, which would result in failure to gain weight, doctors would increase the anti-rejection drugs (which would lead to pronounced susceptibility to colds & flue).
Though a setback, this is (sort of) good news because another liver transplant from a different donor can solve what ails Steve.
I wish the man all the best.