Tim Cook’s departure from Apple in September 2026, succeeded by John Ternus amid ongoing executive churn in AI and hardware roles, drives the strongest market consensus for that outcome. Elevated CEO turnover across tech reflects board pressure for accelerated AI integration and results, with talent reshuffling at firms like OpenAI, Meta, and Google DeepMind highlighting internal strains over model development timelines and safety priorities. Lower probabilities for leaders such as Sam Altman at OpenAI, Andy Jassy at Amazon, and Sundar Pichai at Google stem from stable recent performance and lack of confirmed succession signals, though upcoming earnings calls and potential regulatory scrutiny on AI capabilities could introduce volatility before year-end resolution.