John Ternus becomes Apple CEO amid AI test as AAPL stock slips

John Ternus becomes Apple's CEO on Tuesday and faces pressure to sell iPhones and deliver an AI turnaround. Ternus replaces Tim Cook, who becomes executive chairman after 15 years as CEO. AAPL fell as low as $313 during Monday's session. AAPL traded at $316.85 in after-hours trading, down 0.89% from Friday's $319.70 close, according to TradingView data. Ternus is a 25-year Apple veteran. Big Technology founder Alex Kantrowitz said Ternus's immediate priority is selling iPhones. Kantrowitz pointed to 21% iPhone revenue growth last quarter. Kantrowitz also identified rising memory chip costs as a margin risk. Ternus is betting on a foldable iPhone and a revamped Siri assistant built on Google's Gemini model. Apple shares remain up about 36% over the past year. The stock remains below the record high it reached in July. Apple's market capitalization briefly neared $5 trillion at that time. The transition also includes changes for marketing veteran Phil Schiller. Schiller gave up oversight of the App Store and Apple's product events. Services chief Eddy Cue and communications head Kristin Huguet Quayle now hold those duties. Schiller keeps his Apple Fellow title. The September 9 event will provide the first public test of Ternus's AI turnaround. A foldable iPhone is widely expected to debut at that event.