Tim Cook, number one at Apple, he asked for and obtained the go-ahead from the shareholders for a cut to his pay of more than 40%. This was announced by Apple’s Compensation Commission itself, in a document filed with the SEC, the US Stock Exchange Authority.
The Commission referred to the “outstanding performance” del titolo AAPL (in a negative sense, -27% during 2022), and to “Mr Cook’s recommendation to make adjustments to his compensation based on feedback received” by the shareholders.
Tim Cook’s annual basic salary will remain unchanged this year at $3 million, just as the bonus will not be modified, by an expected amount up to $6 million.
The biggest difference compared to what was previously perceived will concern the shares that the CEO will receive as a reward, the so-called stock awards.
In 2022, Apple had distributed shares to Cook worth $75 millionhalf of which in equity premiums linked to the trend of AAPL stocks on Wall Street.
This year, the CEO will receive instead $40 million worth of stock awards.
Apple’s Compensation Fee does not rule out making other changes.
The decision follows last year’s shareholder vote on Tim Cook’s pay:
64% of shareholders approved Cook’s compensation, down sharply from 95% of votes in favor of the salary set for the CEO for Apple’s fiscal 2020 year.
For 2022, the manager’s compensation target was set at $84 million: in fact, Cook received higher pay at the end, equal to $99.4 million, inclusive of the costs of using his personal jet (amounting to $712,500), the costs of his safety and other benefits.
The target set for 2022 had triggered theInstitutional Shareholder Services (ISS), who had invited shareholders to vote against the proposal, demonstrating “a significant concern” about the “structure and entity” of the remuneration.
The ISS had motivated its opposition by emphasizing also how the decided pay for Tim Cook was equal to 1,447 times the average salary awarded to Apple employees.
Tim Cook has become Apple CEO in August 2011, shortly before the death of iPhone giant co-founder Steve Jobs.
Under his leadership, Apple became the first publicly traded company to reach the $3 trillion market capitalization, market value more than halved last year to around $2.1 trillion as a result of sell-offs hitting Wall Street, in especially technology stocks.
Since Cook took the helm, Apple stock jumps 1,212% versus S&P 500’s +290%as he recalls the BBC site.
In addition to reducing the total target of compensation due to the CEO, the Commission has increased the share of shares that the CEO will receive in relation to the performance of the stock on the Stock Exchange, from 50% to 75%.
AAPL title tested through the end of 2022 new lows since June 2021.