With Tim Cook's Era Ending, Is Apple Stock a Buy Under John Ternus?

Key Points Like Tim Cook before him, Ternus takes over Apple at a time when its path forward is uncertain. Ternus will likely have to ease that uncertainty to revive interest in Apple stock. 10 stocks we like better than Apple › The Tim Cook era at Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has come to an end. Cook took over from Apple Co-Founder Steve Jobs, who was then in ill health and passed away soon after. During his tenure, Apple's stock rose by nearly 2,300%. Amid that gain, incoming CEO John Ternus will have a tough act to follow. Such a move is not necessarily the time to give up on Apple stock , but Apple will probably have to make some changes before becoming a buy. Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue » Image source: The Motley Fool. The problem with Apple stock Much like Cook's beginning, Ternus takes over Apple at a significant inflection point. Jobs was Apple's chief innovator, and with him gone, Cook had to figure out how to grow Apple without that level of innovation. Cook performed as well as anyone could have expected in that position. He established a successful wearables segment and greatly expanded the Apple ecosystem through Apple Services. He also transitioned Apple onto its own silicon and streamlined its supply chain. His approach made Apple one of the most profitable businesses in the world . Unfortunately, Apple struggled to keep up in the AI race. For now, it has made a deal with Alphabet to build Apple's foundational models on Google Gemini's models and cloud technology. However, that is arguably an embarrassment for Apple on some level, since Alphabet owns Android, the main competitor to Apple's iOS smartphone operating system. The move amounts to a tacit admission of the company's AI shortcomings, and one has to wonder whether that was a factor in Cook's decision to step down as CEO. What Ternus must do Now, Apple's current market position speaks to the difficulties Ternus will face in his new job. His success or failure, at least in the foreseeable future, probably hinges on whether he can make Apple a leader in some form. Another company's experience offers some insight. Although Microsoft led the way in PC operating systems, it failed to foresee the advent of smartphones and did not apply its expertise to the mobile world. Still, it made itself prominent in the cloud, implying that Apple does not necessarily need to be an AI leader. Nonetheless, Apple will have to succeed somewhere to avoid the same kind of irrelevance that Microsoft seemed to be facing before Satya Nadella turned the company around. Where that will come from, if it happens at all, remains to be seen. Moreover, Apple investors will have to temper expectations for returns, as it is unlikely Ternus will generate a 2,300% return starting out from a market cap already at $4.6 trillion. Additionally, Apple's P/E ratio is 36, above the S&P 500 's average of 30. However, Apple traded at only 15 times earnings when Cook took over, meaning more than half of his returns came from multiple expansion. Ternus does not appear to have a similar advantage, making it all the more critical that Apple find its way back to the cutting edge of the tech industry. Apple and John Ternus As Ternus takes the helm at Apple, the stock is a hold at best, and Ternus will probably have to establish tech leadership in some area to make it a buy. Ternus takes over from Cook, who had a mostly successful tenure at Apple that generated outsize returns for shareholders. His track record of success seemed to hit a wall in the AI era, meaning it will be Ternus' job to bring Apple back to the cutting edge of tech, either in AI or another emerging technology. Ternus also takes over an Apple that's much more mature than the one Cook took over 15 years ago. Hence, investors should not expect another 2,300% gain, no matter how well he succeeds. In the end, as long as Apple's next forward move remains uncertain, investors should probably treat the stock as a hold. Should you buy stock in Apple right now? Before you buy stock in Apple, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Apple wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $437,097 !* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,355,077 !* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 978 % — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 213% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor , and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of September 2, 2026. Will Healy has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .

Like Tim Cook before him, Ternus takes over Apple at a time when its path forward is uncertain.

Ternus will likely have to ease that uncertainty to revive interest in Apple stock.

The Tim Cook era at Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has come to an end. Cook took over from Apple Co-Founder Steve Jobs, who was then in ill health and passed away soon after. During his tenure, Apple's stock rose by nearly 2,300%.

Amid that gain, incoming CEO John Ternus will have a tough act to follow. Such a move is not necessarily the time to give up on Apple stock , but Apple will probably have to make some changes before becoming a buy.

Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »

Much like Cook's beginning, Ternus takes over Apple at a significant inflection point. Jobs was Apple's chief innovator, and with him gone, Cook had to figure out how to grow Apple without that level of innovation.

Cook performed as well as anyone could have expected in that position. He established a successful wearables segment and greatly expanded the Apple ecosystem through Apple Services. He also transitioned Apple onto its own silicon and streamlined its supply chain. His approach made Apple one of the most profitable businesses in the world .