Last month Apple CEO Steve Jobs made his first public appearance since coming back from medical leave after receiving a liver transplant earlier this year.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)Love him or hate him, you have to admit that Apple CEO Steve Jobs has had a helluva decade.
Consider that, under his helm, Apple defined the portable music player market with the iPod, has shaken up the mobile industry with the iPhone, rocked the retail music business with iTunes, and re-invented the computing business with OS X in a way that the PC business--with less than 10 percent of market share--is no longer the bread-and-butter of the company.
Add to that the brilliant marketing behind Apple and the loyal, almost cult-like following of Apple's fans, and it's no wonder that Fortune Magazine today named him the CEO of the decade. The opening lines of a story written by Fortune editor-at-large Adam Lashinsky (which also includes a nice video segment) explain it nicely:
How's this for a gripping corporate story line: Youthful founder gets booted from his company in the 1980s, returns in the 1990s, and in the following decade survives two brushes with death, one securities-law scandal, an also-ran product lineup, and his own often unpleasant demeanor to become the dominant personality in four distinct industries, a billionaire many times over, and CEO of the most valuable company in Silicon Valley. Sound too far-fetched to be true? Perhaps. Yet it happens to be the real-life story of Steve Jobs and his outsize impact on everything he touches.
Read more of "Congratulations to Steve Jobs, Fortune's CEO of the decade" at ZDNet's Between the Lines.
Securities and Exchange Commission investigators are reviewing the way Apple handled the disclosures surrounding the health of CEO Steve Jobs, according to a Bloomberg report citing a person familiar with the matter. Earlier this month, Jobs announced he would take a six-month medical leave.
Apple, whose CEO's health has been a concern to investors over the past six months following his gaunt appearance at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, announced in mid-December that Jobs would not be speaking at the January Macworld and that Apple would not participate in the event going forward.
At the time, Apple said Jobs would be sitting out Macworld and that its marketing chief would fill in. Then, on the eve of Macworld, Jobs disclosed that he had a hormone imbalance that was "straightforward" in its treatment.
A week after Macworld, Jobs announced new information had come to light regarding his health and it was more complex than earlier thought and that he would be taking a six-month medical leave of absence.
According to the Bloomberg report on Wednesday, SEC investigators are looking into whether Apple's previous disclosures misled investors.
Apple has been enshrouded in controversy over its disclosures regarding Jobs' health, with a number of investors expressing frustration that such disclosures did not come sooner given Jobs' increasingly gaunt appearance.
Apple's share price has also suffered a bout of turbulence with each news report and company disclosure regarding Jobs' health; the iconic leader's vision is considered paramount by many investors in driving the company into new markets and products.
In 2004, Jobs underwent treatment for a rare form of pancreatic cancer, which he has said was successfully treated.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that according to people "monitoring his illness" Jobs is weighing his options regarding a possible liver transplant because of complications following his cancer treatment.
A spokesman for the SEC declined to comment on whether the agency was reviewing Apple's actions regarding Jobs health disclosures.
The SEC does not disclose its investigations unless an enforcement action is taken either through the courts or with an administrative law judge.
Apple was not immediately available for comment.
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Updated at 2:33 p.m. with updated after hours trading information.
Apple shares plunged 10.8 percent a share in after-hours trading Wednesday, after the company announced CEO Steve Jobs would take a medical leave until June.
Jobs said he would take a medical leave after learning his situation was more complex than initially believed.
Apple's shares fell as low as $76.11 a share in after-hours trading, down 10.8 percent from its close of $85.33 a share at the end of the regular trading session.
Wall Street analyst Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray said on CNBC that he still considers Apple a buying opportunity.
"No doubt that Apple is losing the greatest pitchman on earth, but people still want to buy Apple products," Munster said.
He added that the stock is grossly undervalued and presents a buying opportunity.
"Apple investors need to look at the big picture. They need to look at the new products, the balance sheet...this is a storm that will pass," said Munster, who noted Apple has a deep bench of talent.
The analyst pointed to Tim Cook, who will oversee Apple's daily operations during Jobs' absence.
"Tim Cook is a pretty unemotional person, but his ability to run a company is second to none," Munster said. "He is very capable of running the operations of the company."
Munster also noted that while investors may be "frustrated" with how Apple has handled the disclosures regarding Jobs' health, they should not be dissuaded from investing in the company.
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