The End Of An iEra

There were plenty of research notes out this morning discussing the resignation of Steve Jobs and Apple AAPL that were entitled, "The End of an Era." They forgot one little letter in their title. "i". That "i" has changed the lives and fortunes of billions of people, and made billions upon billions of dollars for shareholders since Jobs returned to the helm of Apple. iPod. iPad. Lastly, the iPhone. Steve Jobs leaving the company as its CEO, is nothing new. It's happened before, due to Jobs' health situation. He had pancreatic cancer back in 2004, Tim Cook took over, he returned back in 2005, and the same thing happened again in 2009. Earlier this year, I speculated on what would happen if Steve Jobs were to leave the company. I never thought it would happen this year, and I take no pride in being prescient on this call. In fact, when I heard the news last night, I immediately thought of an article I had written just six days ago about him potentially being back. I felt guilty, like I had jinxed him. Then I realized, we should not treat Jobs leaving his position at Apple as a sad event. It should be treated as a celebration. The man, while very sick, is still very much involved in the day to day operations at Apple, and even worked a full day yesterday. Walt Mossberg, of AllThingsD, is known to keep in close contact with Apple and Jobs, and in his article yesterday speculated that Jobs is at it again. There are rumors that Apple is working on redefining the TV set, which should surprise no one. It has transformed every other electronic device, and has created markets that did not really exist prior to Apple's entrance. Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster echoed these same sentiments this morning, saying it is likely Apple does something with a TV set. Of course, no one at the notoriously secret Cupertino-based company is talking, but those are the rumors. If Apple is able to transform the way people use and interact with a TV, it is likely due to Jobs, Jony Ive, and the rest of Apple's incredible product development team. It is incredibly encouraging that Jobs wants to remain as Chairman, and I firmly believe that he will still be around for major product developments. Let's face it. You can not replace a guy like Steve Jobs. As some on Twitter have put it, Jobs did something very few people in the history of the world have done successfully. He was able to marry art and science. These two categories are almost always at war with each other, and Jobs' ability to do that successfully over and over again has made him the most iconic CEO of our time, perhaps ever. Henry Ford, Leonardo DaVinci, and perhaps Enzo Ferrari are others who have married art and science successfully, but Jobs is the most recent. Watching his 2005 Stanford commencement speech last night makes you realize that you should never give up on your dreams, despite all the negativity around you. If Jobs had listened, who knows where he would be? Instead, he created products that inspired billions and changed the world for the better. What people tend to forget about Jobs is that besides his run at Apple, he also helped build Pixar into the dominant computer animated company it is now. He is the largest shareholder in Walt Disney DIS as a result of his time at Pixar, and he will still remain on the board of directors there. Jim Cramer had a note this morning that Jobs is the greatest industrialist to ever live, and while some may say Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie or others, we can all agree that Jobs is certainly in the same class. He changed the fortune of two companies, and has inspired countless individuals. Steve Jobs can never be replaced. That much is guaranteed. People like this only come around once in a while, and you better enjoy their time on this Earth, because they will not be around forever. That is why it is so telling that Jobs wants Tim Cook to take over. Jobs firmly believes that Cook is the right man for the job, as evidenced by his resignation letter. "As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple. I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role. I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you." In closing, I'm probably not the first person to say this, but it means the most to me. Thank you Steve. ACTION ITEMS:

Bullish:
Traders who believe that Apple will continue to operate better than all might want to consider the following trades:

• Use today's small dip to add to Apple positions. Jobs has not been the CEO for a while, and this should have no change.

• Also add to Apple suppliers, such as ARM Holdings ARMH, Omnivision Technologies OVTI, Qualcomm QCOM and others.

Bearish:
Despite Jobs' failing health ultimately leading to his resignation, this is still bearish for Apple's competitors. You can not compete with genius and hope to win. It's not a fair fight.

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