Apple’s chief design officer, Jony Ive, is leaving!

Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, is leaving the company, Apple announced. The company’s stock dropped 1% on the news in after-hours trading. John Ive is definitely one of the most important people at Apple, and he was responsible for the industrial design and the look and feel of all major Apple products, including the iPhone and the Mac. Ive had been with Apple for more than 20 years, and this is certainly interesting news for Apple shareholders.

Ive is going to start his own design business, called LoveFrom, along with longtime friend and fellow designer Marc Newson, according to a Financial Times report. Apple will be a client.

Apple certainly has some headwinds, and this news today doesn’t help. With that said, they have been more focused on recurring revenues with their service model, and 5G is going to be a major revenue stream in the near future. I’m long Apple, and I believe they will likely outperform over the next 5-10 years, primarily because of 5G. Everyone will need a new phone to use 5G. This will force phone upgrades, which has been one of their major headwinds.