Tim Cook's Final Earnings Call as Apple CEO Came the Same Week Apple Hit a $5 Trillion Market Cap. Here's What Investors Should Watch Under His Successor.

Since Tim Cook became CEO of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) in 2011, taking over for the legendary Steve Jobs, the company's share price has skyrocketed 2,180% (as of Aug. 17). This was an extremely successful tenure. But it's time to hang it up. The tech executive will step down on Sept. 1 and become executive chairman. He'll be replaced by John Ternus, a 25-year Apple veteran who's currently the hardware chief.

Cook's final earnings call for Apple's fiscal 2026 third quarter, which ended June 27, was on July 30. It happened the same week the business reached a $5 trillion market cap, though that valuation has fallen to $4.5 trillion today, driven by a post-earnings sell-off.

Apple remains one of the most valuable and dominant enterprises on the planet, which makes things easier for its successor. Here's what investors should watch as Ternus takes over the CEO role.

Outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook. Image source: Apple.

Does Apple need to introduce a new game-changing device?

This is where Ternus' background in hardware could shine through. The biggest question has long focused on the company's ability to introduce a new product line that can drive financial results. This is a difficult task, given Apple's massive revenue base.

For what it's worth, Apple is working on a foldable phone, an artificial intelligence (AI) pin, and smart glasses, as it leans into a forward-thinking mentality. Maybe one of these ideas will break through. But it might not be necessary for Ternus to do too much early on.

Sales of the iPhone, which remains the flagship device, rose more than 20% year over year in each of the last three fiscal quarters. This has occurred despite Apple not yet launching its updated Siri voice assistant.

Will Apple adjust its capital allocation policy?

Through the first nine months of fiscal 2026, Apple paid $11.8 billion in dividends. On the other hand, its share repurchases totaled $62.1 billion. During his tenure, Tim Cook oversaw a mind-boggling $877 billion worth of stock buybacks. This has been the hallmark of Apple's capital allocation policy for more than a decade.

Now that Ternus will soon be in charge, maybe he will decide to direct more of the company's cash toward research and development projects or mergers and acquisitions. This relates in part to the previous point. Ternus could become much more aggressive than Cook was in trying to find the next major product form factor and end up diverting financial resources from returning capital to shareholders.

Can Apple Intelligence strengthen the ecosystem?

The last factor investors should watch is how the company's AI playbook, known as Apple Intelligence, evolves. Critics have called out the business for falling behind its big tech peers, which are spending large sums on infrastructure. Ternus could have greater conviction on where to invest in the AI trend, taking a more urgent approach than the company has historically been known for.

For Apple, though, it all comes down to how this technology could strengthen its already robust ecosystem. Ternus probably understands that the business doesn't need to do anything wild. Apple can lean into its unrivaled brand power, customer loyalty, and hardware/software adeptness to widen its economic moat. AI is just a tool to support that goal.

Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.