APPLE INC is set to report a stunning 50 percent jump in quarterly sales on Tuesday, as its iPhone and iPad excited holiday shoppers, but the consumer electronics powerhouse may face more pressing questions about the health of iconic chief executive Steve Jobs.
The world's most valuable technology company announced on Monday that Jobs would take a medical leave of absence without specifying a return date or detailing Jobs' condition, leaving investors in an information vacuum.
The surprise announcement made on a U.S. market holiday dragged Apple shares down more than 6 percent in European trading. They are up 62 percent in the past 12 months on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
"Steve Jobs is seen by the market to be a major force in Apple's strategic direction," said Richard Windsor, global technology specialist at Nomura. "If his pancreatic cancer has returned, one could be quite worried."
Jobs' latest leave comes nearly two years after he took a six-month break to undergo a liver transplant. He also took time off after pancreatic surgery in 2004.
Apple has not dwelt on Jobs' health, and Jobs himself asked for respect for his privacy in a memo to employees made public on Monday.
In Jobs' absence, it will be up to chief operating officer Tim Cook to decide how much to tell investors about the absent chief executive, and what Apple plans to do with its $50 billion-plus pile of cash and investments.
Less of a showman than Jobs, the 50-year old Alabama native is not expected to make any grand pronouncements. But he is regarded as a safe pair of hands for the company, having stood in for Jobs successfully twice before.
In Asia, tech shares gained, helped by hopes of a recovery in chip prices and expectations that nimble firms may slow the runaway success of Apple after the news that Jobs would take medical leave.continue reading….
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