As John Ternus becomes CEO, Apple's filings explain exactly how his compensation differs from Tim Cook's

Apple's leadership transition took effect on September 1, 2026. John Ternus became chief executive officer and joined the board, while Tim Cook moved from CEO to executive chair. Former chair Arthur Levinson became lead independent director.

Ternus's annual salary increased to $3 million on September 1. Apple also approved a fiscal-2027 equity award with a target value of $55 million, producing the widely reported $58-million annual target. A separate $2.5-million target RSU award covers his shorter period as CEO in fiscal 2026.

Apple says 75% of Ternus's fiscal-2027 equity award will be performance-based RSUs tied to Apple's total shareholder return relative to S&P 500 companies. The remaining 25% will be time-based RSUs vesting semiannually in eight equal 12.5% instalments over four years.

Cook's executive-chair salary will be $2 million from September 26. Apple approved a fiscal-2027 equity award with a target value of $45 million, split equally between performance- and time-based RSUs. The retirement provision applies only under the conditions and settlement schedule stated in the filing.

Cook became CEO in 2011 and held the role for 15 years. Apple said its market capitalisation grew from approximately $350 billion to $4 trillion during his tenure, while annual revenue rose from $108 billion in fiscal 2011 to more than $416 billion in fiscal 2025. The submitted $5-trillion claim was not supported by Apple's release.