Apple’s Leadership Transition: Tim Cook’s Potential Resignation in 2026

Apple’s board of directors is preparing for CEO Tim Cook’s resignation next year and is stepping up efforts to find a successor. According to sources, senior management recently stepped up preparations for Cook to hand over the reins of the $4 trillion company after more than 14 years at the company. Apple’s senior vice president of hardware development, John Ternus, is seen as Cook’s most likely successor, but “no final decision has been made yet.” The long-planned transition is not related to the current results of the company’s activity. The company is unlikely to appoint a new CEO until the next earnings report is released at the end of January, which will fall during the critical holiday period. The change of CEO in early 2026 will give the new leadership team time to get comfortable before major annual key events — the developer conference in June and the launch of the iPhone in September. Cook, the former chief operating officer of Apple, who turned 65 this month, has led the company since 2011, succeeding co-founder Steve Jobs, who died a few months later. During Cook’s leadership, Apple’s market capitalization grew from $350 billion in 2011 to $4 trillion.