Apple's next CEO inherits a trillion-dollar empire and a glaring weakness that rivals have exploited for years. A top tech analyst says fixing one product could determine whether Apple leads the AI era or gets left behind.
Daniel Newman, CEO of Futurum Group, used a CNBC interview on August 31 to argue that incoming leadership at Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) inherits a company with an unresolved AI problem alongside a fortress balance sheet.
Newman told CNBC, “Tim accomplished a lot in his time. It’s very hard to look at 2,200%+, becoming the world’s most valuable company by market cap.” He noted that Apple surpassed $5 trillion in market cap last month and that Cook spent $877 billion on buybacks, described in the segment as more than the entire Magnificent Seven combined. As of Monday, the stock trades at $314.76, up 17.92% year to date and 37.98% over the past year.
Tim Cook’s Apple Created Enormous Wealth #
In Newman’s assessment, Cook-era numbers are strong in absolute terms but undifferentiated relative to peers. *“The performance was good. It was very good. But it was really kind of equal among peers. *
*And Tesla, of course, blew it away on more of these massive trends that they were able to pick up in tailwinds,”*he said.
Newman argues that Apple underperformed Google, Amazon, Tesla, and NVIDIA during the recent AI boom, and Apple’s diversification bets outside the phone did not connect: the headsets flopped, the car efforts failed, and the smart home never gained traction.
Financially, the current business runs hot. Apple reported Q3 FY2026 revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16.36% year over year, with EPS of $2.02 versus an estimated $1.8914. iPhone contributed $54.3 billion, up 22%, and Services hit $30.7 billion, up 12%.
Why Siri Could Decide Apple’s AI Future #
Newman’s main point is that Apple still controls the surface where users meet AI, even if its AI assistant has lagged. “ Siri hasn’t been as successful as I think many people had hoped. But having said that, the partnerships with Google, the fact that they are still the experience layer that so many of us are experiencing it on an Apple device, especially on the phone in the mobile side,” he said. Owning the interface layer differs from owning the underlying model, and Newman argues that leverage still matters.
On the Q3 call, Tim Cook said: “We were tremendously excited to unveil the all-new Siri AI, a completely reimagined version of Siri that is profoundly capable, deeply personal, and integrated seamlessly across our platforms.” R&D spending rose to $11.7 billion in Q3 2026, up from $8.9 billion year over year, and operating expenses climbed 23% year over year.
Why CEO John Ternus Could Signal a Return to Engineering #
Newman argues the bigger question is whether smartphones will remain the dominant device: “The question is, is the handset going to be the device of the future? We’ve seen the headsets kind of flop. Cars didn’t work out. Apple’s smart home never really became a thing,” he said.
Against that backdrop, Newman frames the leadership change as a deliberate tilt toward product invention: “Ternus is more of a hardware, he’s more of an engineering side, you know, go back to the Steve Jobs era. And they need that. They need to reinvent themselves, because I think getting Siri right is the first step.”
Key Takeaways #
Cook leaves Apple with enormous scale, cash flow and control over one of the world’s most important consumer computing platforms. But Newman argues that the next CEO will need to turn that distribution advantage into real AI leadership. Getting Siri right may be the first test.
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