Today, Apple released its annual meeting proxy for shareholders. The annual meeting will be held virtually only on March 10, 2023, at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. The proxy document includes information about executive compensation, voting matters, corporate governance, and more.
The document states that Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, had a remarkable decision to reduce his payment to $49 million from $100 million in 2022. This change came after criticism from some institutional shareholders regarding the compensation award last year. Apple said that Cook himself suggested the pay cut. The $49 million compensation includes his $3 million salary and an annual cash incentive of $6 million, both of them with no change.
The majority of Tim Cook’s compensation has been in the form of equity. Previously, it was granted according to the document as “50% performance-based vesting and 50% time-based vesting”, but now it is “75% performance-based vesting and 25% time-based vesting”. The Committee stated that “the time-based RSs awarded to Mr. Cook for 2023 provides for pro-rata instead of full vesting in the event of retirement” and that they want to maintain this structure for future years.
Apple also stated that the performance of the company stock had outpaced the S&P 500 with a 1,212% performance versus the index’s 290% since he began working as CEO. And a fantastic market capitalization of more than $2 trillion, making it the most valuable company in the world. Tim Cook has previously stated that he will donate all his wealth, estimated at $1.7 billion according to Forbes.Â
Do you think Tim Cook’s compensation is fair for his work as CEO? Leave your opinion in the comments.
