If Apple Lost Jobs

Vasavada says that he's met some of Jobs' lieutenants, and they're intelligent and capable people. COO Tim Cook, for one, participates in quarterly earnings calls and investor meetings while Jobs does not.

"If you have more people exposed to analysts and investors, you have a deeper bench," says Standard & Poor's equity analyst Richard Stice, who does not own Apple shares and his firm does not do banking.

Of course, a lot of Apple's success is credited to Jobs' salesmanship and promotion, so adding another person to the formula could divert attention from the chief salesman, Stice says. "I don't think Apple would let people know that they would earmark a successor," he says.

Whether or not Jobs is implicated for backdating options, some Apple watchers say that the company is likely preparing for that possibility.

Jobs has temporarily stepped aside before. In 2004, Apple's chief had surgery to remove a pancreatic tumor and took time off to recover. In his stead, sales and operations head Tim Cook ran the company.