Dan Ives Says M&A Is the ‘Missing Piece’ for Apple in AI Arms Race — New CEO John Ternus Could Finally Shake Up Tim Cook’s Playbook

Rishabh Mishra

Fri, September 4, 2026 at 1:02 AM GMT+3 4 min read

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Yorkville Ives' Partner and Senior Managing Director, Dan Ives, expects Apple Inc.'s new CEO John Ternus to usher in mergers and acquisitions, the crucial "missing piece" for the tech giant to compete in the accelerating artificial intelligence arms race.

Moving Beyond the Tim Cook Era

While former CEO Tim Cook is widely regarded as a "Mount Rushmore Hall of Fame CEO," Ives argued that Apple's previous strategy may have caused the company to miss out on certain growth opportunities over the last decade. With Ternus at the helm, investors can expect a distinct strategic shift.

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"Ternus is going to have his own fingerprints, his own stamp, more innovation," Ives told CNBC. "You're going to see hardware changes, and I think M&A is now potentially on the table for something that he's going to do in an AI era in this arms race."

Shaking Up Executive Leadership

Addressing recent personnel shifts, such as Phil Schiller stepping down from App Store oversight to become an Apple Fellow, Ives suggested Ternus is actively building his ideal leadership roster.

Ternus wants to ensure he has "all the right people" in the appropriate roles. Ives anticipates Ternus will assemble a team of internal Cupertino veterans alongside new external executives.

This combination of "old ideas, but also some new ideas" will be vital to bringing renewed innovation back to the company.

Monetizing the 'Golden Install Base'

Despite regulatory headwinds, Apple is entering this leadership transition in a "massive position of strength." Ives noted that Apple's privacy-focused ecosystem gives it a distinct advantage over competitors like Meta Platforms Inc..

The ultimate test for Ternus will be effectively monetizing Apple's "golden install base" of 1.5 billion iPhones and over 2 billion total iOS devices.

"He's getting handed the house, getting the keys at a great time now, but he will be judged on the AI era," Ives concluded. "That will be the success of Apple."

Image Courtesy: Apple

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