Key Takeaways
- In a new interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook directly rejected speculation that he plans to step down.
- The 65-year-old CEO joined Apple 28 years ago and said he has “loved every day of it since.”
- Cook joined Apple in 1998, leaving behind a career at PC maker Compaq.
Apple CEO Tim Cook isn’t going anywhere.
In an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America that aired this week, the 65-year-old CEO dismissed rumors that he is preparing to retire soon. When asked directly about whether he planned to step aside, Cook told ABC, “No, I didn’t say that. I haven’t said that.”
“I love what I do deeply,” Cook elaborated. “Twenty-eight years ago, I walked into Apple, and I’ve loved every day of it since.”
The speculation has been fueled by recent senior departures in Apple’s AI, legal and design units, as well as questions about Apple’s pace in AI development. However, Cook said that he is staying at the company and described AI as a “profound” technology that Apple is approaching with a strong privacy focus.
Cook’s background before Apple
Cook earned an industrial engineering degree from Auburn University in 1982 and later an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business in 1988.
He spent 12 years at IBM in the personal computer business, rising to the role of director of North American fulfillment and overseeing manufacturing and distribution across the Americas.
After IBM, he became chief operating officer of the reseller division at Intelligent Electronics and then vice president of corporate materials at Compaq, responsible for managing the PC maker’s vast component and product inventory.
What brought him to Apple
In 1998, Cook made a counterintuitive decision to leave Compaq, then a dominant PC player, to join a struggling Apple as senior vice president for worldwide operations.
“Any purely rational consideration of cost and benefits lined up in Compaq’s favor, and the people who knew me best advised me to stay at Compaq,” Cook said in his 2010 commencement speech at Auburn University. “One CEO I consulted felt so strongly about it, he told me I would be a fool to leave Compaq for Apple.”
Cook decided to listen to his gut, even if the move didn’t make sense. In March 1998, he joined Apple, accepting a base salary of $400,000 and a $500,000 signing bonus, according to CNBC. He worked his way up to chief operating officer before stepping into the CEO role in 2011.
What Cook has done as CEO — so far
Under Cook, Apple has debuted new products like the Apple Watch and AirPods, while continuing to iterate on the iPhone and iPad. According to Macworld, Apple now has nearly four times the revenue it did when Cook first took over, driven by quadrupling iPhone revenue.
Cook has also expanded into services, turning offerings like Apple Music and Apple TV+ subscriptions into recurring revenue streams. Services revenue has climbed from about $15 billion in 2012 to $68 billion in 2024.
During his tenure, Apple’s market value has soared from under $1 trillion to multiple trillions. At the time of writing, Apple is the third most valuable company in the world, with a market value of $3.67 trillion. It is behind Nvidia (with a market value of $4.33 trillion) and Alphabet (worth $3.68 trillion).
Cook’s compensation was $74 million in 2025, making him one of the highest-paid CEOs in the U.S.
Key Takeaways
- In a new interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook directly rejected speculation that he plans to step down.
- The 65-year-old CEO joined Apple 28 years ago and said he has “loved every day of it since.”
- Cook joined Apple in 1998, leaving behind a career at PC maker Compaq.
Apple CEO Tim Cook isn’t going anywhere.
In an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America that aired this week, the 65-year-old CEO dismissed rumors that he is preparing to retire soon. When asked directly about whether he planned to step aside, Cook told ABC, “No, I didn’t say that. I haven’t said that.”
“I love what I do deeply,” Cook elaborated. “Twenty-eight years ago, I walked into Apple, and I’ve loved every day of it since.”
