Apple stock drops as Steve Jobs takes leave for health issues

It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that when negative news of Apple CEO Steve Jobs crosses the wire, Apple stock is going to drop. That’s been the case today upon news that Jobs is taking a health leave from Apple until the end of June. Jobs will remain CEO, but has put Tim Cook in charge of day to day operations and will be “… involved in major strategic decisions …” but that hasn’t prevented Apple stock from dropping 2.71% as of 4:00 p.m. today.

Jobs announced on January 5th, the day before Macworld Conference and Expo, that a hormone imbalance is the reason he had been losing weight throughout 2008. Today’s announcement reveals that the issue is more complex than that.

Of course, we hope that Steve is able to fully recover and return strong than ever in late June. This is certainly the right move for Jobs, and it could also be the right move for Apple. It’s help the media and shareholders get used to a Jobs-less Apple, Inc. while Steve is contributing, and it’ll allow everyone to focus more squarely on Apple’s products instead of on the health of its CEO. In these troubling financial times, the last thing Apple needs is a distraction from its current lineup to make investors jittery.

Assuming all goes Well with Steve, it looks as if he plans to return right around the time WWDC 2009. We hope to see him and some big announcements at that time.