KEY POINTS
Apple’s Tim Cook Sold $63.8 Million in Stock Under a May Plan, One Day After Restricted Shares Vested
Tim Cook sold about $63.8 million of Apple stock on Oct. 2, the day after a performance award vested, under a trading plan he adopted in May, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows.
The sale was 191,753 shares at prices from $330.66 to $334.50. It ran under a Rule 10b5-1 plan Cook put in place on May 28, which schedules trades in advance and is the device executives use so a sale is not read as a bet on news they have that day. On Oct. 1, 374,541 restricted stock units vested. Apple withheld 199,038 shares, worth about $65.7 million at $330.32, to cover the tax. Cook also gave away 26,325 shares. The filing does not name the recipient. After the transactions his trust held 3,237,843 shares.
The units were granted Oct. 1, 2023, and paid out on Apple’s total shareholder return against the rest of the S&P 500 over fiscal 2024 through fiscal 2026. That return was 90.67 percent, which one reading of the award put in the 76th percentile of the index. The payout was set by a formula written three years ago. The sale the next day was set by a plan written in May.
Cook left the chief executive job on Sept. 1, when John Ternus took over, and became executive chair. Ternus sold 25,412 shares the same day, about $8.5 million, at $331.38 to $334.05, under a 10b5-1 plan adopted May 21. Apple withheld 49,054 of Ternus’s shares for tax when 99,878 units vested. Senior vice president Deirdre O’Brien sold 46,389 shares, about $15.5 million. Three filings on one vest date are a pay calendar, not a coordinated exit.
Cook has not commented. The Form 4 is the statement. A chair who keeps 3.2 million shares after selling 191,753 has reduced a position by about 6 percent of what the trust still holds, before counting the gift and the shares taken for tax. The tax withholding was larger than the cash sale. The $65.7 million in withheld stock is compensation turned over to the government. The $63.8 million is compensation turned into cash.
Apple was trading near $334 when the reports ran. The sale prices sit inside that range. Nothing in the filing ties the trade to a product, a forecast or the handover to Ternus. The plan predates the chairmanship by three months. The award predates it by almost three years. The number that changed on Oct. 2 is the cash, not the job.
Tim Cook sold about $63.8 million of Apple stock on Oct. 2, the day after a performance award vested, under a trading plan he adopted in May, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows.
The sale was 191,753 shares at prices from $330.66 to $334.50. It ran under a Rule 10b5-1 plan Cook put in place on May 28, which schedules trades in advance and is the device executives use so a sale is not read as a bet on news they have that day. On Oct. 1, 374,541 restricted stock units vested. Apple withheld 199,038 shares, worth about $65.7 million at $330.32, to cover the tax. Cook also gave away 26,325 shares. The filing does not name the recipient. After the transactions his trust held 3,237,843 shares.
The units were granted Oct. 1, 2023, and paid out on Apple’s total shareholder return against the rest of the S&P 500 over fiscal 2024 through fiscal 2026. That return was 90.67 percent, which one reading of the award put in the 76th percentile of the index. The payout was set by a formula written three years ago. The sale the next day was set by a plan written in May.
Cook left the chief executive job on Sept. 1, when John Ternus took over, and became executive chair. Ternus sold 25,412 shares the same day, about $8.5 million, at $331.38 to $334.05, under a 10b5-1 plan adopted May 21. Apple withheld 49,054 of Ternus’s shares for tax when 99,878 units vested. Senior vice president Deirdre O’Brien sold 46,389 shares, about $15.5 million. Three filings on one vest date are a pay calendar, not a coordinated exit.
Cook has not commented. The Form 4 is the statement. A chair who keeps 3.2 million shares after selling 191,753 has reduced a position by about 6 percent of what the trust still holds, before counting the gift and the shares taken for tax. The tax withholding was larger than the cash sale. The $65.7 million in withheld stock is compensation turned over to the government. The $63.8 million is compensation turned into cash.
Apple was trading near $334 when the reports ran. The sale prices sit inside that range. Nothing in the filing ties the trade to a product, a forecast or the handover to Ternus. The plan predates the chairmanship by three months. The award predates it by almost three years. The number that changed on Oct. 2 is the cash, not the job.
