Reports: Apple CEO Jobs had liver transplant

NEW YORK -- Reports that Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently had a liver transplant are sparking speculation about the future of the electronics-maker — and questions about what other issues the company may not be revealing.

Jobs, 54, received his new liver about two months ago in Tennessee, The Wall Street Journal said Saturday, citing unnamed sources. Apple declined to comment on the report. USA TODAY has not been able to independently verify the reports.

The charismatic CEO has suffered from health problems since at least 2004, when he said that he had survived a rare form of pancreatic cancer. In January, Jobs went on medical leave after losing a noticeable amount of weight. At the time, he cited health problems that were "more complex than originally thought."

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling reiterated on Saturday that Jobs is expected to return to work at the end of June.

Apple has often said that Jobs' medical history is a private matter. But "Steve Jobs' health is material to the investors in Apple," says independent technology analyst Rob Enderle. "Apple isn't being forthcoming about what's going on…you have to wonder what else he isn't telling us."

Pancreatic cancer can spread to nearby organs, including the liver, says the National Cancer Institute. About 21,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with liver cancer each year, the Institute says. A transplant is a common treatment for cancer and other diseases, including cirrhosis and hepatitis C.

If Apple withheld material information about its CEO from shareholders, the Securities and Exchange Commission "should be interested," Enderle says. In January, financial news service Bloomberg reported that the SEC was examining Apple's earlier disclosures about Jobs' health. Bloomberg cited unnamed sources, and both Apple and the SEC declined to comment.

Few companies are so closely linked with their CEOs as Apple. Jobs, who co-founded Apple in 1976, helped define personal computing in the 1980s and was the driving force behind the hugely successful iPhone, iPod, and Macintosh Computer.

When he left the company for 12 years in the 1980s and 1990s after disagreements with management, it often struggled. When he returned in 1996, Apple stock was trading at about $4 a share. It trades at nearly $140 today.

Jobs "has a vision — the kind of vision you're not going to find anywhere else," says tech analyst Roger Kay with Endpoint Technologies Associates. "He coaxes engineers to build products he can already see."

"Apple has a lot of credibility because they have an icon running the company," says PC analyst Richard Shim with researcher IDC. "He is a marking wizard, and he is able to captivate everybody with his charisma."

In October, Apple shares briefly fell more than 10% after a false report surfaced saying Jobs had suffered a severe heart attack.

But that doesn't mean Apple can't thrive without Jobs, whenever he does step down. Apple "has been preparing the world for the idea that he may not be running the company forever," Kay says. During Jobs' medical leave, the company has continued with its splashy product launches, with marketing chief Phil Schiller filling in for the CEO.

Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer, has kept the company running smoothly during Jobs' absence, Shim says. He is widely considered a candidate to succeed Jobs, but Apple isn't saying so publicly. The company "has been very tight-lipped about it," Shim says.