Tim Cook is no longer CEO Apple – what has happened to the company over 15 years?

August 31, 2026 became the last day of Tim Cook as CEO of Apple. He led the company for just over 15 years after Steve Jobs stepped down in August 2011. Starting September 1, the new CEO Apple will be John Ternus, who previously led hardware development.

Cook remains at Apple. He will assume the position of Executive Chairman of the Board and continue to participate in the company’s operations, specifically in interactions with governments of various countries.

From $350 billion to several trillion

When Tim Cook took over Apple in 2011, the company’s market capitalization was approximately $350 billion. By the end of his tenure at CEO, it had grown more than tenfold. Apple was the first among public companies to surpass capitalization milestones of $1 trillion, $2 trillion, and $3 trillion, and in recent years its value has been around $4-5 trillion.

Financial indicators have changed just as significantly. In the 2011 fiscal year, Apple received $108 billion in revenue. In 2025, the indicator exceeded $416 billion.

The company’s shares also increased approximately 23-fold, accounting for stock splits that occurred during this period. The day after Cook took office, one Apple share was worth approximately $13,35 adjusted for splits, while in the summer of 2026 the price exceeded $300.

Over 15 years, Apple has returned more than $1 trillion to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks.

Apple no longer relies solely on device sales

One of the main changes of the Cook era was the development of the services business. At the beginning of his leadership, the company’s main revenue sources remained iPhone, Mac, and iPad sales.

In the following years, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple Pay, Apple Card, Fitness+, Apple One and other services appeared. The Services direction itself has grown into a business with annual revenue exceeding $100 billion.

The number of paid subscriptions to Apple services and third-party apps within the ecosystem has reached approximately 1.5 billion.

At the same time, the ecosystem of devices itself has grown significantly. Currently, more than 2.5 billion active Apple devices are in use worldwide.

Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple Silicon

Although under Tim Cook Apple has not released a product comparable in impact to the first iPhone, the company has created several new major directions.

In 2015, Apple Watch appeared, which gradually transformed from an iPhone accessory into a standalone platform with a large number of health and sports features.

A year later, Apple introduced the AirPods. Wireless headphones have become one of the most recognizable products of the company and have effectively formed a separate major category of devices within the Apple ecosystem.

Another important decision was the abandonment of Intel processors in Mac computers. In 2020, the company introduced the M1 chip, after which it gradually transitioned computers to its own Apple Silicon processors.

The transition enabled Apple to independently control one of the key technologies of its computers and significantly improve the performance-to-power-consumption ratio of Mac.

Under Cook, Apple Pay, AirTag, Apple Pencil, iPad Pro and several new subscription services also appeared.

Apple has become much larger

The company’s physical structure has also changed. During Cook’s tenure, Apple’s workforce has grown by more than 100,000 people. Currently, the company employs over 150,000 employees.

The number of branded stores has exceeded 500, and Apple products and services are available in more than 200 countries and territories.

During Cook’s tenure, the company sold approximately 3.1 billion iPhones. At the same time, the smartphone remains Apple’s main standalone product and accounts for a significant portion of its revenue.

Cook also significantly restructured the supply chain. Apple has maintained a massive manufacturing base in China, but at the same time has begun to more actively shift device production to other countries, primarily India.

Not all projects turned out to be successful.

Behind the impressive financial results were also major failures. One of them is the automotive project Project Titan, which Apple worked on for about ten years.

The company spent billions of dollars on the project, changed its concept several times, but ultimately completely shut down car development.

It did not meet initial expectations, and Apple Vision Pro. The headset unveiled in 2023, priced at $3499, demonstrated Apple’s technical capabilities in mixed reality but never became a mass-market device.

One of the main criticisms of Apple in recent years under Cook has been its lag in generative artificial intelligence.

Following the rapid development of ChatGPT, Gemini, and other AI services, the company introduced Apple Intelligence; however, the launch of several features was delayed. The new version of Siri, whose development has been postponed multiple times, turned out to be particularly problematic.

As a result, Apple had to collaborate more actively with third-party AI model developers.

Who will now lead Apple

As of September 1, John Ternus becomes the Chief Executive Officer. He has been working at Apple since 2001 and in recent years held the position of Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering.

Ternus participated in the creation of several generations of iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch, and played an important role in the launch of iPad and AirPods. In 2021, he led all of Apple’s hardware division.

The first major event under his leadership will take place shortly after the change of CEO. Therefore, Thunus will have virtually no time to adapt.

At the same time, he acquires a company in an exceptionally strong financial position, but with several serious strategic problems. Apple needs to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence, reduce production dependence on China, and find new device categories that can become the next major growth drivers after the iPhone.

Tim Cook remains at Apple as executive chairman of the board, so the transition of power will be gradual. However, starting September 1, for the first time in 15 years, direct management of the company will pass to a new person.