Shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) were off by more than 3% Tuesday following the company’s announcement Monday that CEO Steve Jobs would take a six-month leave to focus on his health issues.
Apple’s operating chief, Tim Cook, will be in charge of the day-to-day operation of until June, when Jobs plans to return. Jobs, meanwhile, said in a published letter to Apple employees that he plans to stay involved with key decisions made at Apple.
This situation should be familiar for Apple shareholders. Jobs’ health has been in question for as long as his company – and its stock price — has been in ascension over the past decade. While the iPod becoming a cultural phenomenon in 2004, Jobs was diagnosed with a rare, operable form of pancreatic cancer.
That was the first time that Cook stepped in to steer Apple during Jobs’ recovery. And just two years ago, Jobs took a six-month leave to recover from what he said was a hormone imbalance, again leaving Cook in charge.
There’s no reason to doubt that Jobs will return as the public face of Apple by June. And the company should remain stable, with guaranteed new products coming in Jobs’ absence. Cook oversaw the announcement and release of the iPhone 3GS during Jobs’ last respite, and he will now oversee the release of the iPhone for Verizon’s (NYSE:VZ) network in the U.S., as well as Apple’s joint project with News Corp. (NYSE:NWS), the iPad-only newspaper The Daily.
Apple also is rumored to be planning the release of a second-generation iPad and fifth-generation iPhone this spring, likely during Cook’s temporary leadership.
Regardless of health issues, however, Jobs won’t always be around – whether it’s retirement, or an entirely different venture, there will be a time when the charismatic executive won’t be in charge of the most valuable technology company in the world.
But that doesn’t mean Apple will crumble into the shell of a business it did when Jobs was forced out of the company in 1986. It’s entirely possible that Apple will never again experience the renaissance it has over the last 13 years under Jobs’ guidance, but its role as trendsetter in consumer electronics looks secure for years to come, thanks to the growing popularity of the Apple App Store and the iPad tablet PC.
One change that could come at Apple after a Jobs retirement would be the company may begin to ease its unwillingness to support other technologies in their products. Adobe’s (NASDAQ:ADBE) Flash likely won’t be the dominant platform for online video when Jobs is no longer CEO, but it’s likely the two companies will play nicer with one another once he’s gone.
As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here.
