“iResign.”
That’s the essence of the announcement made by Steve Jobs on August 24, 2011 when he officially relinquished his post as Apple Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO). As he steps down, we look back at the plethora of achievements that Jobs scored for the tech company during the past fourteen years that he was CEO.
Here are three of Jobs’ best achievements as Apple CEO with regard to the Apple stock (AAPL).
Achievement #1: Under Jobs’ helm, the Apple stock (NASDAQ: AAPL) skyrocketed in price from $5 in September 1997 after Jobs was officially appointed as interim CEO to around $376 on the day of his resignation. That translates to a total price growth of 7,420% during the 14-year period or a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36.15%. So if you invested $1,000 back in 1997, this is now worth a whopping $75,200.
Achievement #2: Just a few weeks ago, Apple Inc. became the world’s most valuable company with market capitalization reaching $337 billion. Apple has constantly trailed perennial number 1 Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) but on August 9, 2011 Apple slipped past the oil company whose market capitalization declined to $334 billion.
Achievement #3: Since May 2010, Apple is already the largest technology company in the U.S. It is already bigger than Microsoft Corp., IBM, and Google in terms of market capitalization.
Steve Jobs is also credited with revolutionizing the digital music industry with the introduction of the iPod and iTunes. In the tablet PC market, Apple’s iPad is the recognized leader with a 75% global market share at the end of 2010.
Apple Inc. won’t be the Apple company that we know now if not for Steve Jobs. And for that we say thanks to the man who, in the past 14 years, gave us the Mac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad that we currently enjoy.
Timeline of Apple Inc.’s milestones vs. Apple (AAPL) stock price
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