Tim Cook’s New Pay Package Says He’s Not Going Anywhere

Tim Cook is now executive chairman of Apple, but his new compensation package makes clear he isn’t fading into retirement. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Cook’s 2027 restricted stock unit target is $45 million — only $10 million less than new CEO John Ternus’s $55 million target — and the structure is notably different. Only half of Cook’s stock award is tied to Apple’s performance relative to peers, compared to 75% of Ternus’s. Because of those differences, there is even an unlikely scenario in which Cook could ultimately realize more value from his 2027 package than Ternus does.

Cook’s base salary dropped from $3 million to $2 million, but that’s still twice what senior vice presidents and other C-suite members earn. The compensation “tells you everything you need to know about what’s expected from Cook in his new phase,” the episode noted. Cook himself has said he expects to hold the chairman role for a long time, and it will be an active one.

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