Tim Cook may have delivered one last meme as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO before handing the company to John Ternus, welcoming Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s (OTC:NTDOY) Pokémon team and a life-size Pikachu to Apple Park for a visit that mixed succession planning, gaming talk and a disobedient electric mouse.
Pikachu Takes A Tour Of Apple Park
"Today’s agenda at Apple Park: Introduce the @Pokemon team to John, talk gaming, and politely ask Pikachu to stay out of the pond. Two out of three were accomplished," Cook wrote Thursday on X.
The video showed Pikachu wandering through Apple Park, exploring the orchard and eventually heading toward the pond. Cook also appeared with Ternus, Apple’s longtime hardware chief who will replace him as CEO on Sept. 1.
Apple announced the transition in April after its board unanimously approved the succession plan. Cook will become executive chairman and remain involved with the company. Ternus, who joined Apple in 2001, has overseen hardware engineering across products including the iPhone, iPad and Mac.
The visit also offered Cook a playful callback. He met Pikachu during a September 2025 trip to Japan, where he visited Bandai Namco (OTC:NCBDF) (OTC:NCBDY), played Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra on iOS and met App Store developers.
Apple’s Gaming Push Faces Fresh Spotlight
The words "talk gaming" may carry more weight than the mascot antics. Apple has spent years expanding gaming across its devices. Apple Arcade now offers more than 200 games without ads or in-app purchases, while the Apple Games app acts as a central hub for finding titles across Apple platforms.
Gaming has faced pressure, however. Apple Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh said during Cook’s final earnings call as CEO that "headwinds in mobile gaming" weighed on App Store performance, even as the store posted a June-quarter revenue record.
Neither Apple nor The Pokémon Company announced a new game, device or partnership from Thursday’s meeting, leaving online speculation about a deeper collaboration just that.
Ternus Prepares To Take Apple’s Helm
The cameo arrives at a symbolic moment for Apple. Ternus takes over Monday, and his first major product event as CEO follows Sept. 9, when Apple is expected to unveil its next iPhone lineup.
Benzinga Edge Rankings place Apple stock in the 97th percentile for Quality, with a positive Medium- and Long-term price trend.
Price Action: AAPL shares were trading 0.11% higher at $314.94 during after-hours trading on Thursday.
Photo: DFree on Shutterstock.com
Login to comment