Ternus Becomes Apple CEO as AAPL Declines on Leadership Shift

John Ternus takes over as Apple's CEO, with AAPL shares edging lower on the day. Phil Schiller, a longtime marketing executive, also relinquished his remaining major responsibilities this week.

A 25-year Apple veteran, Ternus succeeds Tim Cook, who moves to executive chairman following 15 years at the helm. The change places AI firmly atop Ternus's priorities.

A Reshuffled Leadership Team

Schiller, aged 66, handed control of the App Store and Apple's product launches. These tasks now fall to services head Eddy Cue and communications leader Kristin Huguet Quayle.

Though Schiller retains his Apple Fellow designation, colleagues regard the shift as a move closer to retirement. This adds to a wider exodus of seasoned executives that Ternus will need to handle while restructuring Apple's leadership team.

Selling iPhones Comes First

Alex Kantrowitz, founder of Big Technology, said on CNBC's Closing Bell that Ternus's top priority is unrelated to AI.

Number one is sell iPhones. He’s got to sell iPhones.

Alex Kantrowitz, CNBC

Kantrowitz cited a 21% increase in iPhone revenue last quarter as the key factor behind Apple's 37% stock rise over the last year. He also highlighted climbing memory chip expenses as a margin threat Ternus must address.

Over the longer horizon, Ternus is counting on a foldable iPhone and a redesigned Siri assistant, powered by Google's Gemini model, to show Apple remains capable of hardware innovation and AI advancement.

AAPL Dips on Transition Day

AAPL dropped to $313 in Monday's trading before recovering somewhat after hours. The stock closed at $316.85, a 0.89% decline from the $319.70 level on Friday, based on TradingView figures.

Users on X pointed to volatility linked to the CEO transition.

$AAPL is down around 1.7% on the session, with Apple's leadership transition in focus.

John Ternus will become CEO on September 1. Bloomberg reported Phil Schiller stepped back from the App Store and product events, with Eddy Cue overseeing the App Store.

Trade $AAPL volatility… pic.twitter.com/lqE0b3VwdS

— Vest (@VestExchange) August 31, 2026

Even with the decline, Apple stock is still roughly 36% higher than a year ago. The share price remains under the record peak reached in July, when Apple's market cap briefly approached $5 trillion.

The first major public assessment of whether Ternus can turn Apple's hardware strength into an AI revival will come at the September 9 event, which is expected to feature a foldable iPhone.