What isn't Apple saying about CEO's health?
Posted
Jan 14 2009, 04:52 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Steve Jobs, the chief executive of Apple (AAPL), is taking a six-month medical leave to recuperate, the company said Wednesday.
And just when we thought the prolonged Jobs health drama was settled. Last week, Jobs said he was getting treatment for a hormone deficiency that was blocking key proteins from his body. But those health issues are more complex than thought, he said in an e-mail to employees Wednesday.
The news will undoubtedly rattle investors who have been on edge about Jobs's health for months. Stock index futures dropped after the announcement, and I expect a lot of turmoil in the market Thursday. After-hours trading of Apple shares was halted Wednesday.
The news also raises big questions about what Apple isn't sharing with investors and employees. The company has bungled the Jobs health issue from the get-go, and investors remain skittish because Apple's secrecy and misleading statements give no confidence in its management.
One analyst, Brian Marshall of AmTech Research, thinks Jobs will step down as CEO this year but remain an adviser to the company. That could cut $10 to $15 from the stock price, he told the AP.
There are serious questions about Apple's future, not the least of which is the shape of the product pipeline. Apple's chief operating officer, Tim Cook, will take over for Jobs during the medical absence. But can Cook and other executives move the company forward, or is Apple headed to the sidelines for the next six months?
No CEO is more important to his company than Jobs. The company needs to do whatever it can this week to reassure investors and customers that it will remain an industry leader for the next six months, even without Jobs at the helm.
Here's what others are saying about the news:
Forbes: "But after months of shocking weight loss, and after weeks of a Kim-Jung Il style disappearance from public view, the notion that he is only now realizing the extent of his health issues defies all credulity. People might be disinclined to say so out loud, but on the subject of Jobs' health, no one believes these Victorian-like subterfuges."
Silicon Alley Insider: "Unless Jobs’ health suddenly deteriorated in the last week, Jobs misled investors when he addressed the issue. Perhaps he was himself misinformed. Nonetheless, issuing misleading statements to shareholders will certainly open Apple to potential liability."
Needham analyst Charles Wolf: "It is reasonable to expect, given the history of Steve’s illness, that the market is probably going to assume that he is not going to return to Apple."
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster: "At the end of the day, investors need to come to grips with the reality of a post-Steve Jobs world. This is the most urgent wakeup call they have had.”
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