After 15 years leading Apple, Tim Cook is set to step down as CEO on September 1, passing the role to John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering. Cook joined Apple in 1998 and took over from Steve Jobs in 2011. Over the next decade and a half, he helped turn Apple into a $4 trillion giant, reshaping not only the company’s financial profile but also its product lineup, services strategy, and long-term bets on chips, AI, and U.S. manufacturing.
One of the clearest markers of Cook’s era is Apple’s explosive financial growth. When he became CEO in August 2011, Apple’s market cap sat just under $350 billion. Since then, Apple crossed major milestones at a pace few companies have ever matched: $1 trillion in 2018, $2 trillion in 2020, $3 trillion in 2022, and $4 trillion in 2025. The company now stands at roughly $4.01 trillion.
That rise wasn’t just about share price momentum. Apple reported $112 billion in net income for the fiscal year ending September 2025—about eight times what it earned in September 2010. And it managed that dramatic increase through major global disruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing U.S.-China geopolitical tensions. Cook’s operations background mattered here: as Apple’s former chief operating officer, he was widely credited for strengthening the global supply chain built during the Jobs years. As CEO, he expanded Apple’s reach in China and added around 200 stores to Apple’s worldwide retail footprint.
Cook’s Apple also became defined by expanding beyond the iPhone and Mac into a broader ecosystem of devices. The Apple Watch launched in 2015 and evolved into a health and fitness centerpiece with features like blood oxygen tracking and ECG monitoring. AirPods followed in 2016 and helped redefine what mainstream wireless audio looks like. Apple later introduced over-the-ear headphones in 2020, building on its earlier move to acquire Beats in 2014.
Not every new category became an instant mass-market win. Apple Vision Pro arrived in 2024 positioned as a “spatial computing” platform rather than just another VR headset, but the high price tag kept it from connecting with a broad audience.
During Cook’s tenure, iPad also matured into a flexible lineup spanning multiple sizes and price points, increasingly marketed as a true productivity device for work, school, and everyday use. On the iPhone side, Apple introduced more accessible options like the iPhone SE while also pushing major changes such as Face ID and edge-to-edge displays. Even as Apple gradually moved away from the classic “i” branding in new releases, Cook oversaw one of the biggest expansions of Apple’s overall product portfolio.
A major pillar of modern Apple is its services business, and that engine accelerated under Cook. Apple Pay launched in 2014 and is now estimated to be used by 818 million people globally, cementing Apple’s role in digital payments. Apple’s streaming push arrived in 2019 with Apple TV (originally introduced as Apple TV+), and its catalog has earned hundreds of awards, including an Academy Award for Best Picture.
Apple Music launched in 2015 as a direct challenge to Spotify and has grown to more than 112 million subscribers. Apple Arcade also debuted in 2019, offering a library of premium games as part of Apple’s broader subscription strategy.
Cloud services expanded significantly as well. While iCloud was first announced in 2011, it continued to grow and gained an added tier with iCloud+ in 2021. Cook also oversaw the ongoing evolution of the App Store and repeatedly defended Apple’s 30% commission model, a position that has remained central to Apple’s services narrative.
In pure dollars, services became enormous: Apple’s services segment generated $109.16 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025, contributing to Apple’s total revenue of $416.16 billion for the year.
Cook’s leadership also marked a pivotal technical shift: Apple moved away from Intel processors and leaned fully into Apple Silicon. The transition began in 2020 and was completed across the Mac lineup by 2023. The payoff was clear for customers—better battery life, stronger performance, and improved power efficiency—while also giving Apple tighter control over its hardware roadmap.
In the newest phase of Cook’s tenure, Apple has been working to establish its footing in artificial intelligence. The company introduced Apple Intelligence in 2024, but it has not delivered a defining AI breakthrough yet and has faced notable delays with a revamped AI-powered Siri, which is expected to roll out sometime this year. Apple also stayed relatively quiet during the early surge of generative AI momentum that followed the debut of ChatGPT in 2022. More recently, Apple and Google announced that Google’s Gemini will power Apple’s next-generation AI tools, signaling a pragmatic approach as Apple ramps its AI strategy.
Outside of products and software, Cook also emphasized large-scale investments and long-term infrastructure. He appeared alongside President Donald Trump last year to announce a $600 billion U.S. spending commitment—Apple’s largest investment plan ever. The four-year initiative is focused on expanding hiring and manufacturing in the United States, with a particular emphasis on strengthening domestic semiconductor capability and the advanced technology supply chain.
And then there’s Apple Park, the company’s futuristic headquarters that became a defining symbol of Apple’s modern identity. While it was rooted in Steve Jobs’ vision, Apple Park became reality under Cook in 2017. The 175-acre campus houses more than 12,000 employees, features thousands of native and drought-resistant trees, and runs on 100% renewable energy. Today, it has become the stage for Apple’s biggest product announcements and a physical representation of the company Cook led into its $4 trillion era.
