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| (Top) Cook and Jobs |
Sept. 11: Tim Cook is no Steve Jobs — and so far, that has not been a problem for Apple Inc.
It has become the world’s most valuable company, adding about $265 billion in value since Cook became chief executive 13 months ago. Shares have soared 76 pe cent and profits continue to rise. Investors feel valued with Cook lending them an ear and handing them a dividend. But all that may not be enough.
With Apple poised to announce the long-awaited iPhone 5 tomorrow and reap heavy sales from it, analysts and software developers are looking beyond the product launch to whether Cook can set his own course at the company after the death of its co-founder.
“I think we are definitely still riding Steve Jobs’s stewardship,” said Matt Brezina, chief executive of mobile start-up Sincerely Inc. “Tim needs to define what kind of leader he is externally. As a developer on their platform, I’m not quite sure what kind of leader he is yet.”
Much of Apple’s success can still be traced back to Jobs. So far, Cook has delivered only incremental product improvements with the Siri-equipped iPhone 4S and an iPad tablet with better screen resolution — not the showstopper that Apple will eventually need in a fast-paced, hits-driven business. Both the iPhone and the iPad are credited to Jobs.
Last quarter the company, usually known for reporting blowout numbers, released disappointing financial results, missing analysts’ earnings-per-share estimates for only the second time in more than 30 quarters. So the pressure is on Cook to deliver some of that old Apple magic — and it’s not likely to be with a new version of a 5-year-old smartphone.
“The $64,000 question is: Does Tim have the ability to lead the organisation to another major breakthrough in a new product category?” said Pete Solvik, managing director of venture capital firm Sigma and a former Apple employee. “I have little doubt he is going to have continued success with revisions of the current products. Everybody hopes that he has the ability to sustain the business with a new hit too.”
An entirely new product, such as a much-rumoured iTV television set, would help Cook build his own legacy, said Scott Thompson, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets. “It will be the first true opportunity he will have to show he can deliver end-to-end product as well as his predecessor,” he said. “Apple has to find a product that’s going to help it sustain its earnings momentum in the long run and continue growing earnings at an annual rate of 15 per cent or more,” he said.
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