Cramer Praises Tim Cook's Legacy as Apple Enters New Growth Era

Apple's growth story is far from over, according to Jim Cramer, who has been following Tim Cook's leadership for over a decade. In a recent 'master class' segment on CNBC's Mad Money, Cramer argued that Apple's mechanisms for supporting its growth are still compounding long after Cook's exit.

One key driver of Apple's success is its share buyback program, which has reduced the company's share count by over 40% since Cook took over in 2011. This reduction, combined with a rising dividend and an industry-leading balance sheet, has contributed to Apple's remarkable stock rally of nearly 2,300%. AAPL surpassed Nvidia as the world's most valuable company earlier this year.

Cramer also addressed criticism that Apple is lagging behind in AI development. He notes that while hyperscalers like Google are burning cash building out data centers, Apple keeps its capital spending low and reportedly collects around $20 billion annually from Google for remaining the iPhone's default search engine. This deal is seen as outweighing any costs associated with Apple's tie-in with Google's chatbot, Gemini.

Cramer credits Cook with setting up Apple's growth era, calling him a 'capital-return machine' and praising his services business built to outlast product cycles. However, the question remains whether new CEO John Ternus will need to add an AI push of his own to sustain this momentum.