Apple possessed the ultimate stock-market superpower under Tim Cook. Can its new CEO step up?

Tim Cook concluded his 15-year tenure at Apple, handing the reins to John Ternus, who took over as CEO on September 1st. Cook praised Ternus as having "the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator" and the right person to lead the company forward. Cook's leadership saw Apple's stock climb a staggering 2,274% between his first day as CEO in August 2011 and his final day in August 2026.

A $10,000 investment made at the start of his tenure would have grown to approximately $237,400 based on share-price appreciation alone, before accounting for dividends. Ternus now inherits a company valued at approximately $4.5 trillion, facing the challenge of proving Apple's most profitable days are still ahead. Over Cook's tenure, Apple's market capitalization grew from $350 billion to over $4.5 trillion, annual sales rose from $108 billion to $416 billion, and annual profit quadrupled to $112 billion.

Ternus, with 25 years of experience at Apple, must convince investors of Apple's continued competitiveness in AI, tariffs, supply-chain risks, and the creation of another category-defining product.