Ternus Takes Reins at Apple Amidst Expectations of Product-First Era

Tim Cook's tenure as Apple CEO has come to an end after 15 years, during which time he transformed the company into the world's second most valuable on Wall Street. He handed over the reins to John Ternus on September 1, 2026, with Cook taking on the role of executive chairman.

Cook was always seen as the operations man, handling factories, supply chains, scale, and global relationships. In contrast, his successor Ternus is a product man, having spent over 25 years at Apple working on key products like the iPhone and Mac.

The numbers paint a clear picture of Cook's success: when he took over in 2011, Apple's annual sales stood at $108 billion with profit around $26 billion. By fiscal 2025, these figures had skyrocketed to $416 billion in sales and $112 billion in profit, with a run rate of $467 billion in sales and $129 billion in profit.

Cook oversaw the launch of several products that went on to dominate or create new categories: the Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple Pay, and Apple Silicon. However, there were some notable misses during his tenure, including the cancellation of the long-rumoured Apple Car project and the Vision Pro remaining a niche product.

Ternus now takes charge of products and launches, with expectations pointing towards a more product-first era under his leadership. He will need to meet a demanding set of targets, including maintaining sales growth, profit margins, and services revenue.