- Luca Maestri been in role for a decade
- New CFO Parekh to take role up in early 2025
- Investors hoping for more of the same, not step change
Change at the top always brings some sort of uncertainty, particularly when an incumbent has been in place for years. This is where Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) finds itself after shuffling its C-suite and appointing a new chief finance officer.
Long-standing CFO Luca Maestri has been at the iPhone maker for more than a decade, carefully steering finances that have allowed the company to make essential investments. During his stint as CFO, Maestri helped Apple more than double annual sales and net income and expanded gross margins, catapulting its market cap to beyond $3 trillion.
Maestri will remain part of the Apple top team as leader of the corporate services division, but the CFO hat will, from early 2025, be worn by Kevan Parekh, currently vice president of financial planning and analysis.
WHAT MIGHT CHANGE
Not very much, hope analysts, who seem to be taking a ‘if it ain’t broken, why fix it’ attitude to the reshuffle. JPMorgan analysts highlighted progress over the past decade as Apple solidified its identity as a services company, which has helped achieve a higher valuation multiple, consistent execution of targets, and strong operational and financial discipline, all contributing to significant shareholder returns.
‘With the appointment of Kevan Parekh, who has worked extensively in a senior role with both Tim Cook and Luca Maestri, investors will likely be looking for more of the same and a seamless CFO transition’, they said.
Apple hopes to reverse slowing iPhone sales in China / Image source: Adobe
But the crucial bit of consistency investors will want is an extension of the stability in guidance and target-setting that Maestri got ‘just right’, demonstrating consistent execution while leaving room for upside surprises that investors can celebrate and that could underpin future share price rises.
Apple is set to unveil its latest AI-powered iPhone plus other devices and apps at a launch event on 9 September, as the tech giant attempts to reverse a global sales slowdown, particularly in China.
Issue Date: 27 Aug 2024