Apple's Board Issues Statement of Support
News Commentary. It's a busy day at Apple corporate PR. Following up CEO Steve Jobs' letter on his health, Apple's board issued a statement supporting the chief executive. |
The board's statement impresses me more than does Steve's letter. My question: What the hell took so long? Did Steve and the board have some reason to wait until the quarter's close to reassure shareholders, who are Apple's real owners?
The board's statement:
It is widely recognized both inside and outside of Apple that Steve Jobs is one of the most talented and effective CEOs in the world.
As we have said before, if there ever comes a day when Steve wants to retire or for other reasons cannot continue to fulfill his duties as Apple's CEO, you will know it.
Apple is very lucky to have Steve as its leader and CEO, and he deserves our complete and unwavering support during his recuperation. He most certainly has that from Apple and its Board.
I like the certainty of "you will know it." Apple shareholders should hold the board to that commitment, which is somewhat hollow coming weeks after Steve's Macworld Expo keynote pull-out revived concerns about his health.
If the board knew this weeks ago, why not say so? I suspect the answer may be that they didn't know. If the board was certain about Steve's health and ability to continue as CEO, its members failed their fiduciary responsibility to shareholders by not saying something around Dec. 16.
Steve's letter and the board's statement are certainly helping Apple's share price. The stock is up 5.32 percent to $95.62 from the $90.75 opening, as I post. The boost brings Apple shares close to where they were on Jan. 16, $95.43, before the company revealed that Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, would replace Steve for tomorrow's Macworld Expo keynote.
While critical of the delay, I support Apple saying something about Steve's health. On Saturday, I posted a list of six things Apple must do at Macworld Expo. The first and most important: Fess up about Steve's health.
Uncertainty about Steve's capability to continue as Apple's CEO would have overshadowed all the company's announcements tomorrow. Journalists would have been obliged to mention questions about his health in nearly every Apple product story. Now those background paragraphs will say that Steve Jobs and Apple's board expressed confidence in his ability to continue as CEO and that concerns about his health have been properly addressed.
I view the timing as PR manipulation. It's what companies like Apple do. Unfortunately. The losers: Apple's real owners, its shareholders. For the record, I'm not one of them. I would never invest in a company I cover. But that doesn't stop me from rallying for shareholders, who have a right to know more clearly what's going on.
You tell me. If you invest in Apple, are you satisfied with the information disclosed today? Do you feel satisfied with what Steve revealed about his health? Please answer by e-mail or in comments.
[Please send your tips or rumors to watchtips at live.com].
Comments (2)
Joe, you are highly irrelevant to Apple. So please stop chatting like you are running the show.
Posted by Andre Da Costa | January 5, 2009 3:45 PM
I am invested in Apple. Am I satisfied? I suppose. I have become increasing cynical of a lot of things, so beyond the words of both Steve and the Board, I wonder what the true motivation is. Increasingly, I feel the motivation is to move the stock price up a few points so some greedy bastard can extract money from the system. The stock market is no longer a place for investors.
It's not just Apple, it's a way of life. We are increasingly becoming a society of haves, and have nots. I'm a have not. And if I believe Andre, you're a have not too, Joe. We all know what Andre is.
The real question is what will Apple be, post Steve Jobs? It didn't work out too well the first time. My guess is, they're working on it. Phil Schiller giving the Macworld keynote is a symbolic first step. The future is uncertain, particularly in these uncertain times. One thing for sure though, the price of Apple stock will tank when Steve does retire.
Posted by Dave Lindhout | January 6, 2009 11:13 AM