Apple CEO Jobs To Take Medical Leave Until June - Health Reasons

Chief Executive Steve Jobs will take a medical leave of absence until the end of June, saying curiosity about his health was too distracting for the company, as he named Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook to lead Apple's day-to-day operations.

"As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out," he wrote in an email to Apple employees.

Apple shares were recently down 6.2pc at $80 in late trading.

Jobs also said his health-related issues "are more complex than I originally thought." Jobs didn't give any more details about his condition in a company statement, but CNBC cited technology industry executives who have expressed dire concerns about Jobs' health.

Last week, looking to quell speculation, Jobs said he was suffering from a hormonal imbalance. A survivor of a rare form of pancreatic cancer, Jobs' apparent weight loss shocked the investment community last summer, and rumors about his health have helped make the company's stock volatile for months. Speculation kicked into high gear last month with his unexpected decision to pull out of the high-profile MacWorld trade show.

Jobs is viewed as a mastermind of American business since his triumphant return to Apple in 1997. Since then, the company turned from a niche player in personal computers to a maker of gotta-have tech gadgets like the iPhone and iPod. According to market share data from IDC released Wednesday, Apple's share of the U.S. market is 7.2pc, good enough for fourth place.

Apple has said it has a succession plan, and some at the MacWorld expo said they believed Jobs' eventual successor has to come from inside the company.

This marks the first time Jobs has been absent from Apple for an extended period of time since his return from cancer treatment in September 2004. His absence comes at a time when there are few clear drivers for Apple sales looking ahead.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average see Apple next Wednesday giving guidance for a 2pc slip in profit on a 10pc rise in sales for its fiscal 2009 second quarter, which ends in March. That's way below the growth Apple usually guides for during what is historically one of its weakest quarters of the year. But now some analysts are bracing for even more sobering news given the tenor of the times. For example, Citi analyst Richard Gardner sees Apple guiding sales to slip between 3pc and 6pc, and for profit to drop somewhere between 16pc and 43pc.

In addition, the possibility exists that Jobs, upon his return "in the spring, " as he promised, may not be able to assume all of his duties if his health hasn't fully returned.

"Steve's leave of absence may impact Apple's direction and creative capabilities," said Michael Williams, dean of Touro College's Graduate School of Business in New York. "However, Steve's imprint is on everything 'Apple'. In the short term, I believe Steve's absence will have little impact."

The change in the nature of Jobs' treatment - from something relatively easy to deal with to something "more complex" in just a week - creates the perception that Apple isn't being upfront about Jobs' health, according to comments left on Apple blogs.

But corporate governance expert and Stanford University law professor Joseph A. Grundfest said in an interview he doesn't see how Apple or Jobs would gain by such a move. Rather, the developments of the last week might be a case of a doctor's diagnosis changing, which can happen rather quickly when it comes to treating complex diseases.

"I'm still waiting to have someone explain to me what incentive Jobs would have other than what he's saying being the truth," he said.