Apple has confirmed an iPad event for March 2, but investor squabbling over whether to reveal Apple’s CEO succession plan may overshadow the typical Apple hype. Apple will hold an iPad 2 event in San Francisco next Wednesday, presumably without charismatic CEO Steve Jobs.
E-mailed invitations sent to the media said, “Come see what 2011 will be the year of.” Analysts predict the iPad 2 will be available in volume by mid-March.
“This is the product that undoubtedly a lot of the buyers were waiting for. There has been a significant slowdown in the PC market, largely due to both iPad purchases and people anticipating the iPad 2,” said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. “That indicates the potential for this product is very strong and there isn’t a strong competitor in the market yet. So it still looks like it’s going to be an iPad market at least for the first half of 2011.”
Shareholders Decline To Disclose Succession
Meanwhile, Apple shareholders declined a plan that would require the iPad maker to disclose a succession plan for the ailing Jobs, who recently took an indefinite leave of absence due to health issues.
“Clearly you’ve got a conflict. There are strong arguments on both sides,” Enderle said. “Investors want to know what the succession plan is because they want to be able to estimate how far the stock is going to drop when the company announces that Steve Jobs is not coming back.”
Who Apple chooses for its next CEO could signal to investors how to gamble on the future price of Apple’s stock. Enderle also noted a huge insider-trading risk for investors who don’t know what the succession plan is — if in fact there is even a plan in place.
“Steve Jobs has resisted a succession plan for a long period of…