Apple's succession planning is officially heating up. According to Financial Times, the board has intensified preparations for Tim Cook—who's been leading the $4 trillion tech giant for 14+ years—to step down potentially as early as 2025.

John Ternus, SVP of hardware engineering, is the frontrunner for the top job, though nothing's locked in yet. The timing? Smart move. An announcement early next year, post-earnings in late January, gives new leadership breathing room before WWDC in June and iPhone launch in September.

Cook, now 65, took over from Steve Jobs in 2011 when Apple was worth ~$350B. Fast forward: market cap hit $4 trillion. That's the bar the next CEO inherits—massive success, even higher expectations.

Sources say this isn't about Cook stepping back due to performance issues. It's classic succession planning at a mature mega-cap. The question isn't if, but when, and whether Ternus can keep the momentum going.