Apple Books Record Q2 Revenue as Tim Cook Sets Sept. 1 Exit, Ternus Tapped as Next CEO

Apple’s hand-off recalls the 1983 Jobs-to-Sculley transition and the 2011 Jobs-to-Cook shift—moments when the firm moved from product-visionary founders to operations-minded stewards during record financial peaks. The 2026 switch continues a century-long corporate pattern: mature tech giants institutionalise leadership just as a new technology wave—in this case generative AI—threatens incumbents. Cook’s cash-heavy, CapEx-light approach mirrors IBM’s caution during the late-1990s dot-com boom; if AI valuations deflate like 2000’s crash, Apple’s $145 billion war-chest could look prescient. Yet every prior plateau (the Macintosh in 1984, iPod in 2001, iPhone in 2007) was broken by a bold product bet. Whether Ternus can reinvent Apple before its flagship turns 25 will determine if this moment is remembered as a seamless baton pass or the start of post-peak stagnation in the company’s 100-year arc.