Ed Elson

His latest product, the Apple Vision Pro, was a failure.

It sold only half a million units before it was quietly pulled.

He also fumbled Apple's AI program, which was underwhelming to consumers and also prompted several executives to leave.

His greatest mistake, however, might have been his embarrassing display of obsequience.

toward the president.

Last August, Cook presented Donald Trump with a gold plaque, and he quickly became the laughingstock of the internet and really America at large.

But Cook's riskiest bet was actually one that he chose not to stick around for.

And that was the decision not to invest in data centers.

While the rest of big tech geared up to spend nearly a trillion dollars on AI infrastructure, Apple chose to cut its spending.

The only big tech company in America to do so.

Which leaves his successor, John Ternes, in an interesting position.

Because while every investor around the world awaits his AI strategy, his plan to make Apple the multi-trillion-dollar winner of the next era of technology, it might be possible that those plans were already made for him.

There's no question that Tim Cook was a great, even legendary CEO.

But his legacy will depend on the following question.

Did he leave the company on a trajectory for even greater success, or did he abandon it when he started to lose the script?

That is the question for Apple investors today, and only time will answer it.

Okay, that's it for today.

This episode was produced by Claire Miller and Alison Weiss, edited by Joel Patterson, and engineered by Benjamin Spencer.

Our video editor is Brad Williams.

Our research team is Dan Shalan, Isabella Kinsel, Kristen O'Donoghue, and Mia Silverio.