Apple’s Tim Cook is set to collect stock worth about US$120-million (about R1.7-billion) this week thanks to a run-up in shares of the iPhone maker.
On Friday, Cook stands to receive 280 000 shares tied to his continued service as CEO. He’ll get as many as 280 000 additional shares if Apple’s stock-market return over the preceding three years exceeds at least two-thirds of the firms in the S&P 500.
Apple returned 119% from 25 August 2015, through to Tuesday’s close, including reinvested dividends, outperforming more than 80% of companies in the index. Barring a major collapse this week, that all but ensures Cook will collect the maximum number of shares for his fifth consecutive payout at the top end of the range.
The executive said in 2015 that he planned to give most of his fortune to charity. On Tuesday, an Apple regulatory filing said Cook had donated 23 215 of his current Apple shares.
Cook, 57, gets annual instalments from a massive award of restricted stock he received in 2011, when he succeeded Steve Jobs. It was initially set to vest in two increments over a decade. In 2013, at Cook’s request, the board’s compensation committee tied about a third of those shares to Apple’s relative stock performance versus the broader market.
This month, Apple became the first US-based company to reach $1-trillion in market value. It was worth about $350-billion when Jobs died.
“I don’t really think about it,” Cook said in an interview in February, when asked him about the milestone. “I still view Apple as a pretty small company, the way that we operate.”
Last year, about half of Cook’s 560 000 shares were withheld to cover taxes. The rest were sold, netting him about $43-million. Aside from the stock, Cook also gets a $3-million salary and earned a $9.3-million cash bonus in 2017. He hasn’t received new equity grants since 2011.
The CEO is currently worth about $700-million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. — Reported by Anders Melin, with assistance from Mark Gurman and Tom Metcalf, (c) 2018 Bloomberg LP
