Jobs is back on the job at Apple, a few days a week

SAN FRANCISCO — Steve Jobs, Apple's co-founder and chief executive, officially returned to work Monday after a five-month medical leave.

But for some investors the issues raised by Apple's secrecy about Jobs' health problems and liver transplant are likely to linger.

"Steve is back to work," Steve Dowling, an Apple spokesman, said Monday. "He is currently at Apple a few days a week and working from home the remaining days."

As was the case with Jobs' leave, his return to work was accompanied by only minimal disclosures.

Dowling declined to say whether Jobs' role had changed from what it was before his leave, and he declined to discuss his health. He also would not say when Jobs first returned to work at Apple. Jobs was at work on the corporate campus a week ago, according to a person who saw him there.

The Apple chief's official return comes just before the self-imposed deadline for his medical leave. When Apple announced his leave in January, the company said he would be back at work by the end of June.

Jobs underwent a liver transplant about two months ago, but word of the operation did not surface until earlier this month. Last week, a hospital in Tennessee confirmed that he had surgery there and said his prognosis was excellent.

News of the operation rekindled a controversy among shareholders and corporate-governance experts about Apple's scant disclosures regarding the health of Jobs, a survivor of pancreatic cancer. His return to work is not likely to quell the debate.

"We don't know much," said Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware.

"We know he is back at work and that he had a transplant. Given how important he seems to be to the value of this business, we ought to have the facts in front us that the board had in bringing him back."

During his absence, Apple said little about Jobs other than repeating that he would be back at the end of June.

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a senior associate dean at the Yale School of Management, said Apple's insistence on secrecy damaged the company's credibility.

"At every stage, the rumor mill was more informative and accurate than the company's external communications," Sonnenfeld said. "The fact that they've gotten away with it sets a very low bar."

With Jobs' return widely expected, Wall Street's reaction to the news on Monday was muted. Apple shares closed at $141.97, down 47 cents on a day when the overall stock market was up.

Tim Cook, the chief operating officer who managed the company during Jobs' absence, kept its business humming, analysts said.

But Jobs' vision, attention to product detail and ability to inspire employees are unmatched and have shaped Apple's success, so the hope is that he will stick around, said Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray.

"Everyone is glad to have him back, but is understanding that things can change," Munster said.

In Silicon Valley and beyond, critics and fans of Jobs alike said they were elated by his return to work, which appeared to signal that his health had stabilized.

"The entire Valley is happy to see that he is back," said Paul Holland, a veteran Silicon Valley venture capitalist. "Certainly many of us had our doubts."

Holland, who is a partner at Foundation Capital, said the return of Jobs was good news for the region and the industry because of the broad impact that Apple has had.

"To have a hit company that has been booming for several years is very important for the symbolism it represents for the Valley, as well as for the impact it has on business," Holland said.

Jobs' return was also welcome news on Apple's campus in Cupertino, Calif., Dowling said. "We're very glad to have him back," he said.