Since Steve Jobs returned to Apple 11 years ago, the company\u2019s performance has been remarkable. Though its share price has fallen in the recent market turmoil, Apple continues to churn out hit products. But what happens when the iconic Jobs goes?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.\u201d The comment, by Jobs, at the start of an Apple keynote address last month, elicited uproarious laughter from the Mac faithful who had gathered to hear about the company\u2019s new line of iPods.<\/p>\n
Jobs, 53, made the comment because Bloomberg had mistakenly published his obituary on the Web. Though the news agency quickly pulled the story, it spread like wildfire as online publications and blogs picked up the story and ran with it.<\/p>\n
Though Jobs is still very much alive, there has been concern about his health for the past four years. At a keynote address in June, Jobs appeared on stage looking gaunt, sparking concerns that the pancreatic cancer he had been diagnosed with in 2004 had returned. At the time, Jobs had gone under the knife to have a malignant tumour removed; Apple has since steadfastly rejected all rumours that the cancer has re-occurred.<\/p>\n
In June the company dismissed the speculation surrounding Jobs\u2019s health, stating simply that he had picked up a \u201ccommon bug\u201d. Responding later to queries from stock market analysts, Apple insisted that the health of its CEO was a \u201cprivate matter\u201d.<\/p>\n
But is it? There\u2019s no doubt that Apple\u2019s remarkable turnaround \u2014 before Jobs returned the company was on the verge of bankruptcy \u2014 is in large part due to his remarkable eye for design and his ability to stay a few paces ahead of his rivals. Other smartphone manufacturers are still struggling to catch up to the iPhone\u2019s revolutionary touch interface, 15 months after Apple introduced the product. And in digital music players, nothing has yet come close to the iPod \u2014 Microsoft\u2019s rival Zune player is clunky by comparison. All the products that Apple designs \u2014 from the iMac to the new iPhone 3G, which was launched in SA at the weekend – have Jobs\u2019s signature touch.<\/p>\n
Apple fans are more rabid than ever about the company and its products. More than 1 000 people showed up at Vodaworld, Vodacom\u2019s sprawling campus north of Johannesburg, last Thursday night to be first in line to buy the iPhone when it went on sale at the stroke of midnight. Local blogs were soon ablaze with photos and video footage of the launch as bug-eyed fans revelled in the fact that the iPhone was finally available on SA soil \u2014 none caring that it was here 15 months late.<\/p>\n
Though Apple clearly has its fair share of highly skilled engineers and software developers, products like the iPhone are in large part attributable to Jobs and his singleminded drive to build the world\u2019s best technology products. He reportedly runs the company with an iron fist \u2014 former CEO John Sculley once referred to Apple as \u201cSteve\u2019s company\u201d. Jobs is Apple and Apple is Jobs. So the man\u2019s health is clearly an issue for shareholders and Apple fans alike.<\/p>\n
Jobs brought Apple back from the brink of disaster and has once again made the company he co founded the king of cool in the computer industry. What if ill health forces him to leave? Will Apple\u2019s stock instantly plummet? Is it trading at a 78% premium to Microsoft\u2019s earnings multiple \u2014 25 vs 14 \u2014 because of expectations about what magic Jobs will conjure up next?<\/p>\n
All good companies have extensive succession plans and you can bet that Apple has one, too. But it\u2019s hard to imagine Apple continuing its frenetic pace after Jobs has gone. When that day eventually comes \u2014 and let\u2019s hope it\u2019s not soon \u2014 its rivals will be able to breathe a little easier.<\/p>\n