New Apple CEO John Ternus doubted himself when he started: 'I wasn't sure I belonged'

Apple announced that long-time hardware executive John Ternus will become CEO in September, with Tim Cook moving to executive chairman. The leadership change briefly pressured the stock (AAPL showed a cited intraday drop of $6.67, or about 2.44%), though Wall Street analysts say the promotion could refocus the company on product-led innovation and act as a catalyst for renewed optimism—especially as Ternus must address Apple’s lagging AI strategy. Markets will watch whether the management shift and Ternus’s engineering background accelerate fixes to Siri and other AI initiatives; the move is being framed as both an opportunity and a near-term risk given execution challenges.