Stock markets appear to recover from Wednesday’s news of Apple CEO Steve Jobs resignation. Early Wall Street trading showed the tech giant off just 2 percent as analysts assured investors the future is in good hands with Tim Cook.
The transition from Jobs to Cook is “similar to the departure of Henry Ford, Walt Disney – unique creative forces who companies carried on for years — Apple without Steve will go on,” assured Mike Abramsky, analyst with RBC Capital Markets. However, the analyst recognizes investors may worry about the future without the perfectionist at Apple’s helm.
But Citigroup’s Richard Gardner expects presumed replacement Cook will carry on Jobs’ eye-for-detail. “Tim is a tough but well-regarded leader who will continue to hold Apple employees to an extremely high standard of performance,” the analyst told investors. As for any immediate worries, Gardner notes Apple’s product roadmap is well-defined for the next 12-18 months.
Apple may have planned an even longer post-Steve era, according to high-profile Apple watcher Gene Munster. “Tim Cook will carry out a long-term (5-year) roadmap that he and Jobs jointly established, including several iterations of Apple’s existing products as well as new categories, like an Apple Television as soon as 2012,” the Piper Jaffray analyst writes.
The belief that Apple will continue its current course is echoed again and again by other Wall Street experts. “We believe Apple’s strategy is well laid out and believe Cook and management team will continue to execute,” UBS analyst Maynard Um told investors.
JP Morgan’s Mark Moskowitz: “We expect [Cook’s] knowlege of Apple and its rigid product cycles, supply chain, and partners to result in little change to the go-to-market strategy.” Moskowitz feels there will be little pressure on Apple stock as investors have already considered a CEO change and discounted its impact.
“Many senior people have left Apple over the past five years, and Apple products have continued to do extremely well in the market,” writes BMO Capital’s Keith Bachman.
Jobs, although an iconic presence with his black turtleneck and blue jeans, created an institutional memory that will well serve Apple’s future, is the general message coming from Wall Street today.
