When Tim Cook took over Apple in 2011, the company was worth about $350 billion. When the tech giant announced his transition to executive chairman in April, its market value had climbed to roughly $4 trillion, while annual revenue had nearly quadrupled.
Apple now has more than 2.5 billion active devices and operates more than 500 stores globally. None of those stores are in Africa.
That is the oddity confronting John Ternus as he took over as Apple’s chief executive on Tuesday. He inherits a company that grew faster than almost any business in history and a continent where Apple’s presence shows up in your pocket but barely shows up in Apple’s own numbers.
How Tim Cook grew Apple into a $4 trillion company
Cook did not build this growth on the iPhone alone, though the iPhone still drives half of Apple’s revenue. In fiscal 2025, iPhone sales brought in $209.59 billion, more than 50% of total revenue.
