Apple Retail Traders Unfazed As Longtime COO Jeff Williams Announces Retirement, Leaving Reins To Insider And ’Brilliant Strategist’ Sabih Khan

Tech giant Apple, Inc. (AAPL) announced late Tuesday that its Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams would leave the company later this month after a nearly three-decade career at the company.

Apple stock showed a muted reaction to the announcement in Tuesday’s extended session, edging up by 0.07%.

In a press statement, the company said Williams will hand over the reins to Senior VP of Operations Sabih Khan as part of a long-planned succession. Williams will continue to oversee the company’s design team and Apple Watch, as well as its Health initiatives, until he retires late in the year. The design team will then transition to reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook.

Williams, by virtue of being a longtime second-in-command at Apple, was once touted as a successor to Cook. According to Bloomberg, the executive’s early retirement now clears the path for John Ternus, Senior VP of Hardware, to take over from the Apple CEO.

Heaping high praises on the outgoing COO, Cook said, “Jeff and I have worked alongside each other for as long as I can remember, and Apple wouldn’t be what it is without him.”

“He’s helped to create one of the most respected global supply chains in the world; launched Apple Watch and overseen its development; architected Apple’s health strategy; and led our world-class team of designers with great wisdom, heart, and dedication.”

The Apple CEO introduced the incoming COO Khan, a 30-year veteran at the company, as a “brilliant strategist” who has been one of the central architects of Apple’s supply chain.

Indian-origin Khan will likely have a baptism by fire as he takes up the new role, given the supply chain challenges Apple faces amid President Donald Trump’s tariff threats. Its supply chain is concentrated in China, along with India, Vietnam, and Taiwan, countries that are expected to be hit by significant levies in the absence of bilateral trade deals. 

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward Apple stock shifted to ‘bearish’ (44/100) by late Tuesday, down from ‘bullish’ the day before. The message volume on the Apple stream continued to be ‘normal.’

Retail traders largely shrugged off the development. A user said, “Jeff is retiring, and this has been a long-planned succession. If anything, Khan has already been acting in his capacity for a while now.”

Those who were bearish on Apple stock were more concerned about the stagnating iPhone sales and the likelihood of Trump issuing a letter outlining a 25% tariff rate for India.

The president flagged on his Truth Social account that, in addition to the 14 letters sent to the trading partners, he would release more to at least 7 countries Wednesday morning and an additional number of countries in the afternoon.

Apple shares ended Tuesday’s session marginally higher at $210.01, although they are down 16% year-to-date.

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