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Tim Cook took over as Apple CEO in August 2011, weeks before Steve Jobs died. On September 1, 2026, he will hand over the role to John Ternus after 15 years at the helm. Cook inherited a company valued at USD 350 billion and leaves behind one worth roughly USD 4.67 trillion.
Apple closed the financial year Cook inherited with USD 108 billion in revenue and USD 26 billion in earnings. Last year, it reported USD 416.16 billion in revenue and USD 112 billion in profit. It also recorded USD 254.9 billion in the first half of this financial year.
The company’s growth was not always steady. iPhone sales peaked at 74.5 million units in the December 2014 quarter, generating USD 74.6 billion in revenue. Revenue slipped in 2016, while iPhone revenue fell 15 percent year-on-year in the December 2018 quarter amid weak demand in China.
Cook oversaw every iPhone from the 4S to the 17. Apple shipped 3.1 billion iPhones during his tenure, including 247.8 million in 2025.
The iPhone generated USD 209.59 billion in the last financial year, accounting for 50.4 percent of Apple’s total revenue. In the June quarter this year, iPhone revenue rose 22 percent to USD 54.25 billion.
In 2011, India had neither an Apple store nor an Apple factory. Today, roughly a quarter of the world’s iPhones are assembled in the country.
About 55 million iPhones were assembled in India in 2025, up 53 percent from the previous year. Exports crossed USD 12.8 billion in calendar 2024, while India shipped a record USD 10 billion worth of iPhones in the first six months of FY26.
Apple now has six stores in India and holds close to 10 percent of the country’s smartphone market by volume.
Also Read: Tim Cook Warns iPhone Users About Facebook Tracking Across Apps
Services revenue rose from USD 32.7 billion in 2017 to USD 109.16 billion last year. The segment has a 75.4 percent gross margin, compared with 36.8 percent for hardware.
Paid subscriptions crossed 1.5 billion in June, while the App Store handled more than USD 1.4 trillion in developer billings and sales in 2025.
The Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod, AirTag and Vision Pro were launched during Cook’s tenure. Wearables, home and accessories generated USD 35.69 billion last year, ahead of Mac revenue of USD 33.7 billion.
The USD 3,499 Vision Pro, however, failed to establish a new category. Apple’s AI ambitions have also faced setbacks, with the promised Siri upgrade delayed by nearly two years.
Cook leaves Apple with USD 880 million in total pay, a 0.02 percent stake, 2.5 billion devices in use, and more than USD 1 trillion returned to shareholders since buybacks began in 2012. The company’s headcount has grown from about 60,000 to 166,000, with more than 500 stores across 27 countries.
John Ternus now inherits that scale and the challenge of adding something genuinely new to Apple’s record.
