Apple's Steve Jobs takes medical leave

Erma

Senior Insider
Oh mighty Apple guru John - can you offer any insight into this event? I wish him the best for speedy recovery.

(CNN) -- For the second time in two years, Apple CEO Steve Jobs is taking leave of absence from the company because of a medical condition, according to a letter Jobs sent to Apple employees.
"At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company," Jobs says in the letter.
Tim Cook will take control of the company in Jobs' absence. Jobs says he has "great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011."
Jobs' letter continues: "I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy."
Jobs, who is a pancreatic cancer survivor, has a history of medical problems and took a 6-month leave of absence in 2009, during which time he had a liver transplant.
The tech luminary is revered by Apple fans as a design-minded leader.
His health has triggered all sorts of questions in the tech sector, such as whether Apple will be able to produce innovative products without him, and how his health will affect Apple's stock.
Apple, the world's largest tech company and maker of the popular iPhone and iPad, is set to release an earnings report on Tuesday.
 
It is so sad, he is such an Iconic figure and visionary, I also wish him his privacy and hope for a speedy recovery.
 
From NYT:
Medical experts said that recipients of liver transplants often suffer from a variety of medical problems that are not life-threatening.

A person with knowledge of the situation said that Mr. Jobs suffers from immune system issues common with people who have received liver transplants and that, as a result, his health suffers from frequent “ups and downs.”

In recent weeks, Mr. Jobs began a down cycle and slowed his activities at Apple, said the person, who refused to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss Mr. Jobs’s condition. Mr. Jobs has been coming to the office about two days a week and has appeared increasingly emaciated, the person said. He has frequently had lunch in his office, rather than in the company cafeteria, the person said.
 
While he is a great leader the company is very different now and he has built an amazing team. He is replaceable but it would take years for the world to believe it. Hard to imagine the second largest company in the SP 500 is so dependent on 1 man.
 
didnt effect their quarter...numbers just came out minutes ago....absolute blow out quarter.....and the stock got hammered today in anticipation of gloom and doom, so I picked some up .....tomorrow will be a good day for the stock

no company is one man dependent anymore
 
Not hammered -2.25%

Top News: Steve Jobs Taking Leave of Absence

Apple Reports Record 1Q 2011: $6 Billion Profit on $26.74 Billion in Revenue
Tuesday January 18, 2011 04:35 PM EST
Written by Eric Slivka
Apple today announced financial results for its first fiscal quarter of 2011, corresponding to the fourth calendar quarter of 2010. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $26.74 billion and net quarterly profit of $6 billion, or $6.43 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $15.68 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.38 billion, or $3.67 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 38.5 percent, compared to 40.9 percent in the year-ago quarter, and international sales accounted for 62 percent of the quarter's revenue. Apple's quarterly profit and revenue were both company records.

Apple shipped a record 4.13 million Macintosh computers during the quarter, a unit increase of 23 percent over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone unit sales reached a record 16.24 million, up 86 percent from the year-ago quarter, and the company also sold 19.45 million iPods during the quarter, representing 7 percent unit decline over the year-ago quarter. Apple also sold a record 7.33 million iPads during the quarter.
"We had a phenomenal holiday quarter with record Mac, iPhone and iPad sales," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We are firing on all cylinders and we've got some exciting things in the pipeline for this year including iPhone 4 on Verizon which customers can't wait to get their hands on."

Apple's guidance for the second quarter of fiscal 2011 includes expected revenue of $22 billion and earnings per diluted share of $4.90.

Apple will provide live streaming of its Q1 2011 financial results conference call at 2:00 PM Pacific, and MacRumors will update this story with coverage of the conference call highlights. Analysts will almost certainly ask about Apple CEO Steve Jobs' new medical leave of absence within the context of how it and any related changes will affect the company's business, although analysts and Apple officers will obviously touch on a number of other topics as well.

Conference Call Highlights

- Peter Oppenheimer: "Very pleased" to report outstanding results. Quarterly records for Mac, iPhone, iPad, total revenue, and total profit.
- Macs: New record of 4.13 million Macs sold...growth 8x faster than overall PC market. Fueled primarily by strong MacBook Air demand, as well as MacBook Pro. Quarter ended with 3-4 weeks of channel inventory.
- Highlighting Mac App Store launch.
- Music products: 19.45 million iPods. iPod touch sales grew 27% year-over-year. Now over 50% of iPod sales. iPod continues to be top-selling music players in nearly every country.
- iTunes revenue exceeded $1.1 billion. Pleased to bring The Beatles to the store, and movies to Japan.
- iPhone: 16.24 million units for 86 percent growth. Average selling price of about $625. 185 carriers in 90 countries on board. Asia-Pacific and Japan strongest growth areas: more than doubled.
- Highlighting enterprise penetration.
- Ended with 3.5 million iPhones in inventory, up about 250,000 over last quarter. Could have sold more.
- iPad: Thrilled with customer interest. Available in 46 countries. 80% of Fortune 100 are using or piloting iPad, up from 65% in the prior quarter. Average selling price of about $600. Increased supply throughout quarter...channel inventory grew by about 525,000 to support new markets.
- Now over 165 million iOS devices sold in total.
- Retail stores: Record 851,000 Macs sold, up 24%. About half were to customers new to Mac. International stores grew more strongly than U.S. stores. Opened six new stores in the quarter...323 total with 87 outside U.S. Average revenue of $12 million, up 69% over year ago. Record 75.5 million visitors during the quarter.
- Gross margin at 38.5%, above expectations...factors included component cost savings and leveraging higher-than-expected revenue.
- Cash plus marketable securities on hand nearing $60 billion.
 
I don't know..that's pretty good haircut for a one day total..I picked it up down 15 bucks...thats not major, but pretty significant

its all moot now though..this puppy is gonna run tomorrow
 
Stellar numbers.


I made my contribution for the 1Q already. Laura was returning from Cuba and got me an iPod Touch 32G from the Schiphol airport. I decided to replace the old Squeezebox in the bedroom with an iPod Touch streaming music from the iTunes library. Apple doesn't do that but there's an App for that -- StreamToMe.
 
I'm not an Apple or Steve Jobs fan. I do wish him the very best and a speedy recovery.


Yes, he is way cooler and cogent than Mr. B at Windoze. IMHO.
 
JoshA said:
Actually, Apple does. I stream music from my iPod touch using Airport Express.

Yes but Apple doesn't stream from the iTunes (on a Mac) to the iPods.


For some odd reason Apple assumes that one has all the content on the iPod/iPad and one wants to stream it elsewhere. Sorry but I know plenty of people, myself included, who just need the other way around, from iTunes library to the devices. Just make AirPlay any-to-any, Steve.
 
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