Apple Inc. is under growing pressure to consider changing leadership as its artificial intelligence (AI) efforts lag behind rivals.
Analysts at LightShed Partners have openly urged the company to replace CEO Tim Cook, warning that Apple risks falling behind in a rapidly evolving tech landscape.
Apple should “absolutely” replace CEO Tim Cook with a more forward-thinking new leader, one analyst told a news outlet Wednesday. “Apple now needs a product-focused CEO, not one centered on logistics,” wrote the analysts Walter Piecyk and Joe Galone.
The call for changes is occurring in a period of transition. The company said Jeff Williams, Apple’s longtime chief operating officer , would leave the firm this month. Williams was widely considered to be in the running to succeed Cook, and his departure is thought to pave the way to a major shake-up in the brand’s leadership. Sabih Khan, who has been with Apple for 30 years, is the company veteran who will replace William.
With Williams on his way out, the focus is already shifting on John Ternus (Apple’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering), who may emerge as the top internal candidate to replace Cook. Ternus has been leading the development of Apple’s key products, such as the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
AI failures damage Apple’s market position
Apple’s slow adoption of generative AI has not escaped investors’ notice or the wider tech ecosystem. Unlike Microsoft and Google, which have moved aggressively to push AI-based tools and alliances, Apple has made only slight past forays. But that silence is starting to come at a cost for the company.
In 2025, Apple stock fell 16%, versus increases of 25% in shares of AI-forward companies including Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp. And Apple’s stock market performance is a reflection of investors’ jitters that the company is failing to keep up in a sector that is already revolutionizing industries from software to hardware and beyond.
Start-ups are wading in too, releasing hardware and software that is directly competitive with Apple’s once unassailable ecosystem. Consumers are also increasingly drawn to AI-enabled devices, which learn, predict, and adjust. At this rate, if Apple doesn’t have a good comeback ready soon, it’s going to see its market share and cultural influence start to wane.
Apple revealed a handful of features called “Apple Intelligence” at its Worldwide Developers Conference in 2024. Still, analysts say the update was more evolutionary than revolutionary regarding AI features, which could not be said about what rivals offered.
Cook’s legacy faces a new AI reality
The performance of Tim Cook, as CEO, is nothing less than historic. Under Mr. Cook’s watch since 2011, Apple’s stock has risen more than 1,400 percent, far outpacing the broader S&P 500, which has climbed roughly 430 percent over the same period. During his tenure, Apple was the first company to reach a $3 trillion market capitalization and added new devices and services to its product lineup.
Cook has also steered Apple through multiple international crises, including COVID-19 and global supply chain problems. He was able to keep the ship running and growing, which made him a trusted figure on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley.
But for some analysts, that legacy alone doesn’t justify keeping things as they are. Piecyk and Galone acknowledged that Tim Cook was the right CEO when he took over and credited him for doing an exceptional job. However, they argued that the current era demands new leadership—someone who can drive the bold product innovation that originally made Apple a global leader. They noted that with Jeff Williams stepping down, the moment calls for more disruptive change, not less.
The push for Cook to leave hasn’t reached the point where it’s a common demand of investors or among directors, and there’s no sign the CEO intends to abandon the ship himself. However, the note from LightShed is one of an increasing number chastising Apple’s direction in the era of accelerated progress in the field of AI.
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