Apple CEO John Ternus salary: Apple has now stepped into a new era, and Tim Cook has finally given his seat to the new CEO, John Ternus. This new leadership transition comes with a lot of changes that the company will now usher in. The new lead is more of a hardware guy, as opposed to Tim Cook, who was a savant in services and supply management. So we can expect some more innovation in the company that is hardware-led.
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Now, as the transition takes place, there are many things that are on the anvil right now, and the most immediate thing is the 'Surprise and Shine' event that is going to take place on September 9, 2026. But before all this, Apple has revealed the salaries of Cook and Ternus.
How Much Will John Ternus Make As The New CEO?
The target compensation that has been decided for Apple's new CEO, John Ternus, is ₹58 million, which roughly translates to ₹551 crore for the whole fiscal year. The new Chairman, who is, in fact, Tim Cook itself will get about $47 million, which is approx. ₹446 crore. This disclosure was made to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday, the day John Ternus took the helm.
What Are These Stock Awards?
Now it's not like a straight $58 million transfer of cash into his account; it has a breakdown of components in it. $3 million is the actual salary that John Ternus will receive in this fiscal, rest, $55 million, is in stock awards which are targeted for next year.
Similarly, $2 million will be Cook's annual compensation, and $45 million is in planned stock awards for fiscal 2027. The thing to note here is that Tim Cook will be taking home less salary this time as Executive Chair, as he had a $3 million salary as CEO and last year earned about $74.3 million.
Interestingly, it should be noted that changes in stock prices will affect how much compensation out of the fixed amount they will take home, as with rises and falls, that component also changes.
According to Apple, John Ternus will also get a prorated restricted stock unit or RSU, worth $2.5 million in fiscal 2026, which is going through September. Also to note, out of his fiscal award that is designated to him for 2027, 75 per cent of it is performance-based RSUs, which are linked to Apple's total shareholder return in comparison with other listed companies in the S&P 500. The remaining 25 per cent is time-based and will be granted in equal instalments semi-annually over four years.
To break it down into simple terms, what Ternus will receive in terms of stock rewards is mostly dependent on how the company performs in competition with other large listed players/ US companies.
For Tim Cook, the story is a bit different, and half of his equity award income is performance-based instead of 75 per cent when it comes to the new CEO. The other half is time-based, granted over four years.
To break it down even further, in 2025 Cook earned $74.3 million, which is $3 million in fixed salary, $12 million in performance-based cash awards and $57.5 million in time-based stock awards.
Another thing here for Cook is that even if he retires on or after the first anniversary of the grant date, he will still receive the shares, but only on the dates that they were originally decided to be granted. Usually, if an executive leaves, their shares no longer remain to be given to them, but good for Tim Cook that that's not the case this time.
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Apple is transitioning into a new era; 15 years ago, Tim Cook took the reins from its co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011, and now it's time for Ternus to step into these big boots, with many challenges like new hardware and Artificial Intelligence and competition waiting for him in the ever-changing tech arena. What lies ahead for Apple could be a big opportunity or something else entirely. With the September 9 event just around the corner, it would be interesting to see how the new leadership transition is being absorbed by the company as well as the community.