Apple's April 2026 announcement that Tim Cook will transition to executive chairman on September 1, with hardware engineering head John Ternus succeeding him as CEO, drives near-certain trader consensus on his departure before 2027. This official succession plan, following years of board preparations and executive exits at the company, stands out against lower probabilities for other leaders like Sam Altman at OpenAI or Andy Jassy at Amazon, where no comparable public signals have emerged. Broader industry trends show elevated C-suite turnover amid AI-driven restructuring, yet most major tech CEOs lack confirmed timelines or regulatory pressures that would shift outcomes before the December 2026 resolution. The September transition date serves as the key near-term catalyst traders are monitoring.