How has apple’s stock performed under Tim Cook? (& prior CEOs)

Tim Cook, 65, will step down as Apple’s CEO on September 1, 2026. He will be replaced internally by John Ternus, a 25-year company veteran. Cook will have served as chief executive for more than 15 years, having succeeded founder Steve Jobs in 2011.

John Ternus, 50, is senior vice president for hardware engineering and will become Apple’s 8th CEO in nearly 50 years. He has big shoes to fill.

Here’s how Apple’s stock fared under Cook as CEO and a comparison to its performance under previous CEOs, including founder Steve Jobs.

How has Apple’s stock performed under Tim Cook as CEO?

Cook took over as CEO on August 24, 2011 — just a couple of months before founder Steve Jobs passed away at 56 years old. Cook had served as chief operating officer prior to becoming CEO, and he had been instrumental in managing Apple’s supply chain and its overseas operations, namely in China. 

When Cook succeeded Jobs, Apple had about $350 billion in market capitalization and $108 billion in revenue in its fiscal 2011. By April 2026, the tech giant’s market value had surged to more than $4 trillion, and it booked revenue of more than $416 billion in fiscal 2025. 

During Cook’s tenure as CEO, Apple’s stock surged by almost 2,000%, or 20-fold, to over $273 on a post-split basis as of the end of April 2026. For comparison, the S&P 500 returned around 503% over that same period. In other words, Apple’s stock outperformed the market at large by a massive margin while Cook was the company’s CEO.

A Google Sheet showing Apple’s stock performance under Cook in real time can be found here. It includes comparisons to the stock’s performance

Related: Tim Cook’s net worth: The Apple CEO’s wealth as he announces retirement

How does Apple’s stock performance under Tim Cook compare to Steve Jobs? 

Apple’s stock price performance under Cook has rewarded investors well, exceeding the S&P 500 Index’s 500% gain by far. 

Still, the stock’s performance under Cook lagged that of Jobs (due in part to the sto ck starting from a higher market value).

Apple’s founder took over in July 1997 at a time when the company was short on cash and on the verge of bankruptcy — suffering from a weak line of products and a lack of innovation. In just a few years, Jobs transformed Apple and brought it into the digital age with a diverse line of products, including a revamp of Mac computers and the release of the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad. 

In the Steve Jobs era, Apple’s stock surged more than 11,000%, or 110-fold — the most it has gained by percentage under any CEO. I

ts market capitalization was small at around $2 billion when he regained control, but that surged to around $350 billion by the time he stepped down in 2011. Over the same period, revenue jumped from $7 billion in fiscal 1997 to $108 billion in fiscal 2011.

More on Apple:

• History of Apple: Company timeline and facts
• Apple salaries: From retail to engineering to CEO
• Does Apple pay dividends? A history of rewarding shareholders

How does Apple’s stock performance under Tim Cook compare with other Apple CEOs? 

Cook and Jobs handed Apple the best price advances in the stock’s history, for a combined 2,277-fold increase over a nearly three-decade run, and it would be difficult to match or beat either of those individual gains.

Apple’s other five CEOs have not fared as well.

Before Jobs, Apple’s stock under Gil Amelio, who served as a sort of caretaker CEO to the ailing computer maker from 1996 to 1997, fell 52%. His predecessor, Michael Spindler, oversaw an almost 30% decline from 1993 to 1996.

John Sculley, who was recruited from PepsiCo by Jobs in 1983 and was handed his papers a decade later, oversaw just a 105% return.

Apple’s first two CEOs didn’t fare as well either. The stock rose 50% under Mike Markkula from 1981 to 1983 and fell 7.7% under Michael Scott from Apple’s first day of trading in late 1980 to early 1981.

Apple stock price performance by CEO

Related: John Ternus’s net worth as Apple’s next CEO