Tim Cook’s Apple Legacy & Utilities’ Wildfire Responsibility

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**Hanna Horvath** (0:31)
The Fed rate debate just flipped with Marcus Bracing for another hike.

**Dylan Lewis** (0:34)
And when it comes to the California wildfires, who should foot the bill?

**Hanna Horvath** (0:37)
For Monday, August 31st, it's Brew Markets Daily. I'm Hanna Horvath.

**Dylan Lewis** (0:41)
And I'm Dylan Lewis. Let's see what's moving and grooving.

**Hanna Horvath** (0:51)
We will get into Apple's new era in just a moment, but first, as you may be able to tell from our accents, we are not Ann Berry.

**Dylan Lewis** (0:58)
That's right. Ann is expanding her new role on our sister podcast After Earnings, and she's going to be launching a new interview show soon. Be sure to stay tuned here for details on that upcoming project. But based on Ann's interviews here on Brew Markets, you know that show is going to be awesome.

**Hanna Horvath** (1:11)
And this show will continue to bring you your daily update and context on market movements and investment insights.

**Dylan Lewis** (1:17)
Hanna, we should probably do some quick intros. I'm Dylan Lewis. I've spent the last decade following the stock market and podcasting about the companies that matter most in our economy.

**Hanna Horvath** (1:24)
And I'm Hanna Horvath. I'm a CFP, financial journalist and professional overthinker of what the economy is doing to our money. And the show's producer, John, will also be riding with us, keeping an eye on the closing bell.

**Dylan Lewis** (1:33)
It's changed, but we're excited to be filling these host seats and to be talking markets. Let's get into it. Today, Apple's Tim Cook sits in the CEO chair for the final time. Cook took over the role in 2011 and earned himself on the spot of the Mount Rushmore of American CEOs. Over his tenure, Apple's revenue nearly quadrupled to over $400 billion.
The company launched new product categories like the AirPods, Apple Watch, and its high margin services segment became an $100 billion annual business. On that business strength, shares are up over 2000% versus the S&P's 500%.
And on that climb, Apple returned over a trillion dollars to shareholders via buybacks and dividends. It's hard to remember, but when Cook took over Apple, it was challenging ExxonMobil for the largest company in the world. 15 years later, it is second only to NVIDIA. That kind of consistency is virtually unheard of. And so much of it is attributable to Cook's operational excellence across Apple's supply chain, ecosystem, and its corporate strategy. He will hand things over to his longtime colleague, Apple's Vice President of Hardware and Engineering, John Ternus. Cook said that Ternus has, quote, the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honor. Hanna, Cook is a household name, Ternus is not. What can you tell us about Apple's new CEO?

**Hanna Horvath** (2:45)
Yeah, so as you just said, Ternus is Apple's longtime hardware chief and has been with the company for over two decades. And he has overseen some of its biggest products, including the iPhone, the iPad and the Mac, maybe you've heard of those. So this is somebody who knows the Apple machine extremely well, but he is inheriting this machine in a very different technological era, AKA the AI era. Apple has been slower than some of its rivals in generative AI and has increasingly turned to outside partners and models, which could have long-term implications for the company's competitive edge. But on the other hand, Apple's focus on its hardware could be an enormous advantage. So I think the question is really whether things, the things that made Apple so powerful in the last era, especially that tightly controlled ecosystem, are still advantages in the AI first world. Dylan, what do you think about that?

**Dylan Lewis** (3:32)
Yeah, I mean, with Apple and the story in general, it reminds me of how difficult succession planning is, especially from the outside looking in on a business. There were so many questions about Tim Cook taking over for Steve Jobs. Does he have the visionary skills to develop and create new products? Can he lead this company that Jobs was so closely associated with? The reality is companies kind of need different types of leaders for different moments. Apple needed the visionary early on to get that foundational iPhone product. But Cook was a much better leader when it came time for the financial fire power and building out corporate strategy in its ecosystem. I think there are some similarities here between what we see with the transition from Jobs to Cook and Cook to Ternus. Like Cook, Ternus has been at the company for a very long time and he's an external hire. Also like Cook, he has deep technical expertise and I think this is coming at a time when the chips are really at the center of tech and the economy and that is kind of the most important part of where this company will go for the foreseeable future.