Reactions to Jobs’ medical leave of action mixed (updated)
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Jan 15, 2009 at 7:05am
Reactions to Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ announcement that he’s taking a medical leave of absence have meet with mixed reactions. Gene Munster, an analyst with the Piper Jaffrary investment bank firm, doesn’t think this will have a negative effect on the company. However, lawsuits may be forthcoming say others.
In a note to clients, Munster had this to say: “We believe that during Jobs’ absence, Apple’s sales will be unaffected. More importantly, we believe the pace of innovation will remain solid, driven by key product-minded executives. From an operational perspective, we expect [chief operating officer Tim] Cook to maintain the same standard of excellence that he demands as COO.”
Meanwhile, AppleInsider says that members of the legal and investment communities believe Jobs’ disclosure will inevitably open Apple to lawsuits from shareholders unhappy with the recent secrecy over his uncertain health.
“Investors may choose to litigate if they feel misled or cheated by Apple’s tight-lipped policy on discussing Jobs’ health issues, a matter which has undoubtedly played a major role in driving the company’s share price to less than half of its 52-week high of $192.24,” AppleInsider says. “However, such lawsuits would be new territory for a judge to navigate, as the law is unclear on what personal medical information a company must (or must not) disclose about members of its top brass.”
Meanwhile, UBS analyst Maynard Um thinks Apple’s strategy will likely remain intact while Jobs is absent. “We believe that the corporate strategy that Jobs implemented, including a strong emphasis on product design, will remain intact as Jobs will still be making strategic decisions,” he told clients. “We believe the leadership team Jobs assembled is more than capable to continue to execute the strategy both near and long term.”
On the other hand, Jobs’ leave of absence may have a serious impact on stock, says Needham & Co.’s Charlie Wolf. He says it may place a limit on the growth of Apple stock, though he told clients it’s a good sign that Jobs hasn’t resigned, nor been asked to resign by the board of directors.
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Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 10,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
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