Apple CEO Tim Cook gets US$41 million from biggest share sale since 2021

APPLE chief executive officer Tim Cook sold stock worth about US$41 million after taxes in his biggest sale in more than two years as the shares of the iPhone maker slide off recent highs.

Cook sold 511,000 shares, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday (Oct 4). He still has about 3.28 million shares in the Cupertino, California-based company where he’s worked for more than two decades, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The share sale comes after Cook took a rare pay cut of about 40 per cent to US$49 million for 2023. As part of the changes to his compensation, his stock awards tied to Apple’s performance will increase to 75 per cent this year from 50 per cent previously.

Other Apple executives also disclosed stock sales, including Senior vice-presidents Deirdre O’Brien and Katherine Adams, who sold US$11.3 million in shares each.

Cook’s last major stock sale was in August 2021, when he sold more than US$750 million in Apple stock after completing a decade as CEO. After tax withholdings, he netted about US$355 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Apple shares hit an all-time high in July and have since declined more than 12 per cent amid a wider tech sell-off. KeyBanc Capital Markets downgraded the stock on Tuesday citing a weaker sales growth outlook. The shares were little changed on Wednesday. BLOOMBERG

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