Tim Cook

Apple off the hook as SEC ends tax probe

Ed Sutherland ∙ October 7, 2013

After spending the summer in the hot seat over its tax strategy, Apple has received the all-clear sign from federal regulators. In a September letter, Securities and Exchange Commission investigators who'd been looking into Apple's finances gave the iPhone maker some good news, saying the agency plans to take no action at this time.

In May, Apple CEO Tim Cook testified before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, telling members his company pays all taxes it owes. Like the subcommittee, the SEC apparently found no wrongdoing on Apple's part...

Tim Cook sends out internal letter reflecting on Steve Jobs’ passing

Cody Lee ∙ October 4, 2013

Tomorrow marks the two-year anniversary of Steve Jobs' passing. The occasion is sure to stir up a lot of feelings for a lot of people, as he meant so much to so many.

With that in mind, Tim Cook sent out a brief internal letter to Apple employees today, reflecting on Steve and what he meant to him, the company, and the world...

Apple’s ever-growing cash horde pegged at one-tenth of all US corporate dollars

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Some people collects rocks, other people collect stamps. Apple, however, likes cash. Turns out the iPhone maker, all by itself, controls ten percent of all corporate cash in the United States.

Just how much is that? New data shows Apple's bank account of $147 billion represents ten percent of the $1.48 trillion held by non-banking U.S. companies.

Here's another factoid to make you even more uneasy about that measly savings account of yours: all together, Microsoft, Google, Cisco and Pfizer - not exactly nickel and dime operations - account for another fifteen percent of all U.S. corporate cash...

Carl Icahn pushes Cook for $150B stock buyback over NYC dinner

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Dinner with billionaire investor Carl Icahn often gives corporate CEOs heartburn. Icahn is known for buying company shares, then pushing for changes - and it is no different with Apple. Monday night Icahn asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to increase to $150 billion the amount of stock the iPhone maker plans to buy back, more than doubling Apple's previously pledge of $60 billion. Last night's New York City dinnertime discussion comes after Icahn invested somewhere near $2 billion in Apple in August. Reports say the activist investor sees Apple shares still undervalued...

Cook to employees: take a Thanksgiving week off, you deserve it

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 30, 2013

"I realize many of you worked tirelessly to bring us this far. I know it required great personal sacrifice," wrote Apple's boss Tim Cook in an email to the company's employees before making a surprise announcement.

"In recognition of your incredible efforts and achievements, I’m happy to announce that we’re extending the Thanksgiving holiday this year," reads the memo.

Although the extended Thanksgiving holiday won't apply to Apple's retail and support army "so we can continue to serve our customers," the rest of Apple will shut down with pay on November 25, 26, and 27, Cook wrote. I've included the full contents of Cook's email to employees right below...

U.S. Senator Al Franken challenges Apple on Touch ID privacy implications

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

What are the privacy implications of the iPhone 5s fingerprint sensor? U.S. Senator Al Franken wants Apple CEO Tim Cook to answer that question and more. In a published letter to Cook, Franken writes that "important questions remain about how this technology works." In addition, the senator wants the Apple chief to explain how the Touch ID sensor may be used in the future.

In response, Apple published online a document explaining that fingerprints obtained by the new iPhone 5s are walled-off from the iOS software and application developers...

The launch: “incredible” demand, Tim Cook & Co. at Palo Alto store, line vids the world over

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

If it is Friday, you must be standing in line for the new iPhones. As the iPhone 5c officially hits stores and the iPhone 5s opens for both pre-sales and retail customers, Apple describes the rush to own the new smartphones as "incredible." From a Silicon Valley appearance by CEO Tim Cook to Hong Kong's own gold rush, talk of a down-and-out Apple is forgotten amid the lines and excited iPhone fanatics.

Acknowledging to AllThingsD that some models of iPhone 5s are "sold out or in limited supply," Apple reportedly is asking its suppliers to increase production by a third.

Gold is in - particularly when it comes to Apple's just-released iPhone 5s...

Cook, Ive, Federighi sit down with Businesweek for a wide-ranging interview

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 13, 2017

Last time an Apple executive gave a detailed interview to Bloomberg Businessweek was in December 2012, when CEO Tim Cook talked Scott Forstall, collaboration and management changes.

Following last week's iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c introduction and yesterday's release of iOS 7, the most significant visual change to Apple's mobile operating system since the original iPhone, the publication interviewed Cook and his lieutenants, design guru Jony Ive (who designed iOS 7) and software head honcho Craig Federighi.

In a wide-ranging interview, the three men discussed iOS 7, collaboration, competition, Android, the so-called cheap iPhone and other topics.

I've included the best quotes right below...

Tim Cook kicks off iPhone event with usual barrage of stats

Cody Lee ∙ September 10, 2013

Great news folks, the moment we've all been waiting for is finally here! Tim Cook has just taken the stage in Cupertino, meaning Apple's iPhone event has begun and we are just moments away from seeing the new smartphone.

As usual, the CEO is getting things started this morning by going over some significant sales numbers and achievements for the company over the past year. And also as usual, we're collecting and posting them for you after the fold...

iOS in the Car cannot come soon enough

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

I recently purchased a new top of the line 2013 Nissan Pathfinder and am very pleased with the family decision. Everything is exactly what my wife was looking for in a vehicle, sleek exterior, beautiful interior, mandatory leather seats, and room for future 2.2 kids and a Great Dane. The size, we felt, was a little lacking, but it stood up to its rivals with a bit of finesse.

We get our new, fresh smelling, SUV home and start playing with it in the driveway like two kids and a new toy on Christmas morning. But, we obviously are attracted to different things. My wife wanted to climb all over the back seats, adjust the driver seat, and set the memory locks for her key fob. I go straight for the dashboard entertainment center.

I took a fairly hard look at the infotainment center on our various test drives, but once I had my iPod classic freshly synced and plugged into the Pathfinder, I quickly grew upset. Below the fold is a personal reaction to the system in our new vehicle and a highlight of how things could be done in a more fluid way...

A look at Tim Cook’s first two years as Apple’s CEO

Cody Lee ∙ August 24, 2013

Two years ago today, to the date, Tim Cook officially took over the reigns as Apple's CEO. Cook had long been handling the position's day-to-day duties, and had played interim CEO on a few occasions, but on August 24, 2011, Steve stepped down and Tim stepped up.

One can only imagine what it's like to try and take over a chief executive role for a company as big as Apple, following up someone like Steve Jobs. But Tim Cook has thus far managed to do it. Here are some of the more notable moments from his two-year tenure...

Reuters profiles Apple’s Cook as ‘methodical’ and unafraid of tough decisions

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 22, 2013

Apple CEO Tim Cook, often compared to the iPhone maker's mercurial co-founder Steve Jobs, is pictured in a new profile as a nuts-and-bolts technocrat able to balance a softer corporate image with the ability to make hard choices. After two years at the helm of the consumer electronics giant that is Apple, Cook is being described as a "methodical" and "no-nonsense" guy not afraid to make tough decisions.

Ahead of launching a new version of the flagship iPhone, Reuters speaks with Cook's co-workers and colleagues, showing the Apple CEO is "as different as could be from that of his predecessor"...