Apple’s Annual Meeting: Don’t Expect Fireworks

Apple’s annual shareholders’ meeting today could be more about the elephant in the room, not sliding profits and job cuts which have become increasingly common topics in American business.

With Mac sales above the anemic numbers of PC makers and the iPhone continuing to make marketshare inroads, the financial side of the annual meeting is without surprises.

“Don’t expect too many fireworks,” advised CNBC’s Jim Goldman.

Rather, the hot topics of the day will likely be a subject Apple has avoided: the health of CEO Steve Jobs, its clumsy attempts to control the information and Cupertino’s succession planning.

While usual shareholder questions rarely strike at the motives of Apple’s leaders, a number of shareholders are likely to ask whether how Jobs’ health is hurting the company’s image.

Indeed, earlier this week, Apple said it would not stream the annual meeting online and would corral reporters into a separate room, indications the technology firm expects pointed debate.

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A related issue is how acting CEO Tim Cook will handle the crowd and its Q&A period. “That’s a lot more tricky — and unpredictable — than a big keynote,” Goldman noted. In January, Apple’s finance chief Phil Schiller filled in for Jobs at the Macworld Expo.

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