To answer my own question, we definitely have to consider the fact that the company's stock fell once the rumor got around that Jobs had a heart attack. Now where the hoax came from who knows, but it seems that once the rumor got out confidence was lost. I've even heard people discussing who within the company would be best to succeed Jobs. Still speculation abounds as to whether it was a planted story, fed to manipulate NASDAQ (the market). The SEC is investigating and most recent reports surfacing reveal that CNN turned over the contributor from their citizen journalism site iReports. Back to my question though. If rumors of ill health could cause Apple stocks to plunge, what would happen if Jobs actually became unable to continue his leadership of the Cupertino-based tech company?