Apple, which said its visionary founder died yesterday at 56, aims to maintain its expansion in markets such as China, fueling sales of the iPhone and iPad. The company also stands to gain from updated versions of those best-sellers and the new iCloud service, which makes it easier for its gadgets to share information -- and harder for users to switch to rival devices.
For Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, the challenge will be developing Apple's next generation of hot sellers and facing down competition in the markets Jobs pioneered. Google Inc.'s Android has emerged as one of Apple's biggest threats after gaining momentum in phones and tablets. Cook, who this week led the debut of the iPhone 4GS, will lean on a cadre of fellow veteran executives who have long worked together under Jobs.
"He created an infrastructure that this management team can build on for a long time," said Tim Bajarin, a technology analyst at Creative Strategies Inc. "The bigger question is how fast will they innovate and take advantage of that infrastructure for things like new devices, applications and services."
Jobs had resigned as Apple Inc. chief executive officer on Aug. 24. He was diagnosed in 2003 with a neuroendocrine tumor, a rare form of pancreatic cancer, and had a liver transplant in 2009.
The spotlight at Apple now shifts to a successor years in the making: Tim Cook. Since officially taking the reins as chief executive six weeks ago, Mr. Cook has won strong reviews for his leadership from many Apple employees.
"So far Tim Cook's move to CEO has been flawless, not surprising given Jobs groomed him for five years to take the role," said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co.
But Mr. Cook must now show Apple can continue to churn out blockbuster products without Mr. Jobs's guidance.
Mr. Cook is known for helping Apple make wise operational and manufacturing choices—such as diversifying the source of memory chips—but not for being the design and product guru.
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Shareholders have said they are impressed by how Mr. Cook has stepped into a more public role, and have expressed confidence in his leadership. Apple employees, as well, say he has kept Apple running with a trademark focus on details and polish.
Apple declined to make Mr. Cook available for an interview.
"Tim Cook doesn't need to be Steve Jobs—he needs to be the best Tim Cook he can be," said Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. "Cook understands what he is good at and what he is not good at."
Mr. Cook's next test will come when the company releases earnings on Oct. 18, and gives investors a preview into its expectations for the key holiday shopping quarter.
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