Tim Cook Gets Generous Praise From Trump As He Gets Ready To Hand Over Apple’s Reins To Ternus – ‘Always Been A Big Fan’

• President Trump recalled that his first interaction with Cook was regarding a “fairly large problem” that only he could fix.
• Wall Street sounded largely positive on Apple’s leadership change, with BofA analyst Wamsi Mohan stating that the timing suggests that Apple’s near-term results are “extremely resilient.”
• Mohan added that Ternus' elevation as CEO suggests the company might be entering a new era of devices, and that 2027 could be a big product year.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised outgoing Apple Inc. (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook, calling him an “incredible guy” in a post on Truth Social.

“I have always been a big fan of Tim Cook, and likewise, Steve Jobs, but if Steve was not taken from the Planet Earth so young, and ran the company instead of Tim, the company would have done well, but nowhere near as well as it has under Tim,” President Trump said in the post.

He also praised Cook for reaching out to him directly, adding that the outgoing Apple CEO got the job done quickly without spending a dime on consultants.

Apple shares were down about 0.2% in Tuesday’s pre-market trade. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the company trended in the ‘neutral’ territory at the time of writing.

Trump Reflects On His Interactions With Cook

President Trump recalled that his first interaction with Cook was regarding a “fairly large problem” that only he could fix. He added that he was impressed that Cook called him to explain his problem.

“He explained his problem, a tough one it was, I felt he was right and got it taken care of, quickly and effectively. That was the beginning of a long and very nice relationship,” the President said.

Trump added that Cook had an almost incomparable and amazing career. This comes as Cook’s 15-year tenure as Apple’s CEO comes to an end in September this year, after having led the company for 15 years since succeeding Steve Jobs in 2011.

Apple’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus, will succeed Cook, while Cook will become the Executive Chairman of the company’s board.

Wall Street Largely Positive On Apple’s Leadership Transition

Wall Street is largely positive about Apple's leadership transition. According to TheFly, BofA analyst Wamsi Mohan said the timing of the leadership change suggests Apple’s near-term results are “extremely resilient.”

Mohan added that Ternus's elevation to Apple CEO suggests the company might be entering a new era of devices, and that 2027 could be a big product year.

BofA maintained its ‘Buy’ rating for Apple with a $325 price target.

Citi analyst Atif Malik stated that Apple’s leadership change came somewhat earlier than many had expected, while maintaining that Ternus was the frontrunner to lead the company.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley expressed optimism that the change of guard at Apple would bring renewed investor optimism and potentially shift the overarching narrative about the company.

JPMorgan analysts stated that this change was highly anticipated, noting that this comes at a time when Apple is facing intense competition to launch the next generation of form factors in the smartphone segment and beyond.

AAPL stock is up 0.4% year-to-date and 39% over the past 12 months. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is up 35% over the past 12 months, while the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) is up 46%.

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) and the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) are up 35% during this period.

Also See: INTC Stock Hits Dot-Com Era High After 78% Rally This Year — Analysts Turn Bullish Ahead Of Intel's Q1 Earnings This Week

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