John Ternus Takes Over as Apple CEO as AI Strategy Becomes Defining Challenge

John Ternus formally became Apple's chief executive on September 1, succeeding Tim Cook in the company's first leadership transition since 2011. Apple shares rose roughly 3% on the day of the handover, reflecting investor optimism, though the new CEO faces immediate pressure to accelerate Apple's position in artificial intelligence after the company has been seen as lagging rivals in that race. Tim Cook departs having grown Apple from a roughly $350 billion company to one valued at more than $4.5 trillion, and having repositioned much of its manufacturing to India and Vietnam ahead of tariff pressures.

The broader AI investment landscape dominated markets around the same time. Wells Fargo flagged data center real estate as a favored way to play AI infrastructure buildout, while Deutsche Bank named Coherent and Lumentum its highest-conviction picks among hardware companies positioned for the next wave of AI connectivity. AMD, which has already roughly doubled in 2026, drew fresh attention after CEO Lisa Su argued the AI buildout is barely getting started, though analysts noted that a stretched valuation and tightening export controls create real risk.

On the enterprise side, EY selected CrowdStrike to provide the security layer underpinning its EY.ai Value Blueprints platform, an example of AI-adjacent deals moving beyond pure hardware. Retail investor interest remained concentrated in Alphabet and IBM for long-term AI exposure, while Palantir's ability to sustain growth after a recent customer surge continued to be closely watched. A Bloomberg forum also highlighted growing questions about whether local backlash against data center development could threaten the pace of the US AI buildout.