Archive · 30 Aug 2026
Tim Cook’s 15-Year Apple Legacy Beyond Steve Jobs
Tim Cook became Apple’s leader after Steve Jobs in 2011.
He helped Apple make and deliver many more products around the world.
Apple also started earning much more money from services such as music, television, storage and games.
Products like the Apple Watch and AirPods became important parts of Apple’s business.
Apple’s revenue grew from about $108 billion to nearly $400 billion.
Cook also helped Apple design more of its own computer chips.
The company bought back shares and began paying a dividend to investors.
On September 1, Cook is expected to become executive chairman while John Ternus becomes CEO.
Tim Cook used his supply-chain and operations expertise to help Apple scale after becoming CEO in 2011.
Apple’s services revenue grew to a record $109 billion in 2025 through offerings including Apple Music, Apple TV+ and iCloud+.
Wearables, home and accessories products such as Apple Watch and AirPods grew from less than $10 billion annually to more than $30 billion.
Apple expanded from about $108 billion in 2011 revenue to nearly $400 billion today, while its market capitalization rose from roughly $350 billion to about $5 trillion.
Cook oversaw Apple’s move to custom M1 chips, major shareholder returns and a planned September 1 CEO handover to John Ternus.
- Who
- Tim Cook, Steve Jobs and incoming CEO John Ternus are central figures; Apple is the company involved.
- What
- The account examines Cook’s 15-year transformation of Apple and his planned transition from CEO to executive chairman.
- When
- Cook led Apple for 15 years after 2011; the CEO handover is scheduled for September 1, and Apple’s services revenue reached a record in 2025.
- Where
- The changes occurred across Apple’s global hardware, software, services and manufacturing operations.
- Why
- Cook expanded Apple’s ecosystem, services business, operational scale, supply-chain strategy and control over hardware technology.
- CEO tenure
- Tim Cook led Apple for 15 years after succeeding Steve Jobs in 2011.
- Services revenue
- Apple services revenue reached a record $109 billion in 2025.
- Total revenue
- Apple’s revenue grew from about $108 billion in 2011 to close to $400 billion today.
- Market capitalization
- Apple’s market capitalization rose from around $350 billion to roughly $5 trillion and briefly crossed $5 trillion in July 2026.
- Custom chips
- Apple announced in 2020 that Mac computers would transition from Intel processors to Apple’s M1 chips.
- Leadership transition
- John Ternus is scheduled to become CEO on September 1, while Cook becomes executive chairman.
- Shareholder returns
- Apple launched a dividend and stock-buyback program in 2012 and has since spent hundreds of billions of dollars on repurchases.