Thought Leadership
In a filing submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Apple has disclosed the target compensation for new chief executive officer John Ternus.
Ternus’ annual base salary is set at 3 million US dollars, supplemented by an annual equity award with a target value of 55 million US dollars for fiscal year 2027 starting in October. Additionally, he receives a one-time, prorated grant of Restricted Stock Units valued at 2.5 million US dollars for his service already rendered as chief executive officer in the current fiscal year 2026.
Of the annual stock award, 75 percent is performance-based and depends on Apple’s total shareholder return relative to other companies in the S&P 500 index, while the remaining 25 percent vests in equal semi-annual installments over four years, independent of stock price performance. The actual value of the granted shares thus ultimately depends on the future development of Apple’s stock price, as do potential performance-based cash bonuses, which are not included in the aforementioned target values.
Cook, who is transitioning into the new role after 15 years as CEO, will in the future receive a reduced annual base salary of 2 million US dollars, down from 3 million US dollars previously, supplemented by an equity award with a target value of 45 million US dollars for 2027, half of which is performance-based and time-vested, respectively. Cook’s total compensation as CEO amounted to 74.3 million US dollars for fiscal year 2025. How much Ternus was previously compensated in his former position as Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering was not made public by Apple; according to reports, a comparable executive position at the company typically pays around 25 million US dollars annually including stock awards.
From Cook to Ternus: Second leadership change this century
The change at the helm of the company is only the second of its kind this century at Apple, after Cook himself succeeded Steve Jobs in 2011. In the nearly 15 years under Cook’s leadership, Apple’s market capitalization grew by more than 2,200 percent, according to several sources, from around 350 billion US dollars to approximately 4.5 trillion US dollars today. Ternus assumes company leadership during an important phase for Apple, characterized by a now-matured smartphone market as well as increasing competition from rapidly growing AI companies like OpenAI.
(Editorial Team)
