In only a couple hours of trading since Steve Jobs announced his resignation as CEO, Apple shares have only gone down about 5%. Considering Jobs’ impact and influence in the minds of both consumers and Wall Street, that’s not really the huge drop that everyone expected.
Steve built up Apple as a well-oiled machine before he stepped down, and he’s left that machine in the capable hands of Tim Cook and the rest of the Apple board. It should also be noted that Steve will still be heavily involved in Apple, as he as accepted the postion of Chairman of the Board.
Apple stock is fluctuating right under $400, which is still a ridiculously high share price compared to the rest of the market.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
“A logical pricing of Apple’s stock might take into account the importance of Jobs, but it should also account for the fact that Apple appears to have a pretty good thing going.
Plus, Jobs has known for a while that he is facing a serious illness. There hasn’t been anything stopping him from making sure a long-term strategy is in place. He is going to remain as chairman, and the new CEO, Tim Cook, has been running day-to-day operations for some time.
So given the fact that Jobs is so identified with Apple, a 5% drop seems unsurprising and not terribly big. Jobs’s departure, while sad, appears to have been mostly priced in.”
Whether or not Apple’s stock will continue to do well under the reign of Tim Cook is a whole other question.
We miss you already, Steve.