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Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs stunned shareholders and the tech world by announcing that he was taking a leave of absence until the end of June due to health reasons.
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AP Pictures of Steve Jobs just a few years apart. |
In an email to employees released by Apple, Jobs said his health problems are "more complex" than he had thought.
"In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June," he said.
The news sent Apple shares [AAPL
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] lower Thursday, though not as severe as the 10-percent decline in after-hours trading Wednesday immediately after the news was annnounced.
Jobs, a pancreatic cancer survivor, made his bombshell announcement only nine days after he sought to soothe persistent concerns about his health by saying his marked weight loss over past months was due to a hormone imbalance that was relatively simple to treat.
Jobs said he planned to remain involved in major strategic decisions while he is away. Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook will take responsibility for day-to-day operations in Jobs' absence.
An Apple spokesman declined to elaborate on Jobs' health.
Speculation about his health resurfaced in June 2008, when Jobs appeared markedly thinner at an Apple event. He is seen as the driver of Apple's successful, consumer-friendly products, including Macintosh computers, iPod media players and iPhones.
"It's something we don't need right now," said Tom Sowanick, chief investment officer of Clearwater Financial in Princeton, New Jersey. "This Apple news gives investors more angst to digest and get through and take itself out of. Yes, the markets have (been) building in risks with respect to Steve Jobs' health, but Apple shares will still get hit in the morning."
"Steve Jobs is known as the company but we have to see how well his 'support system'—the people he put in place—will hold up," he added.
Jobs' health complicates what is expected to be a less-than-scintillating year for Apple and the consumer electronics industry, as a severe global economic downturn saps consumers' spending appetite.
Some analysts fear that without a big product launch—such as last year's 3G iPhone—Apple will lack a share catalyst in 2009.
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