While Apple CEO Tim Cook received a $3 million base salary in 2024 for the third consecutive year, the executive also earned bonuses and other compensation that took his total pay to about $74.6 million last year. For Cook, that represents an 18% increase from the previous year. First handpicked by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs to take over as CEO in 2009 after Jobs felt too ill to run the company. Jobs returned only to turn the job back over to Cook just before he succumbed to pancreatic cancer in October 2011.
The additional income paid to Cook included $58.1 million in stock awards, $12 million in non-equity incentive plan pay, and $1.5 million in unnamed compensation. Apple decided to give Cook an increase in the target value of his equity award to $50 million from $40 million because, at the lower figure, Cook’s pay would have put him closer to the bottom compared with other CEOs in Cook’s peer group.
Last year saw Apple introduce the Vision Pro spatial computer. Despite the hype, the high starting price of $3,499 limited the appeal of the device. 2024 also saw Apple introduce its AI initiative, Apple Intelligence. However, Apple is pushing this out on a staggered basis and the AI features that the tech giant has released thus far have been underwhelming compared to some of the AI features offered by Samsung and Google.
For all of fiscal 2024, Apple took in just under $295 billion which was a slight decline from fiscal 2023’s top line. Apple’s net profits also dropped from $97 billion in fiscal 2023 to $93.74 billion last fiscal year. Under Cook’s leadership, Apple did report a small increase in fiscal 2024 iPhone sales which rose .2% to $201.18 billion. The company’s stock did rise over the year from $191.59 to close 2024 at $250.42. The 31% increase slightly outperformed the Nasdaq 100.
Besides reporting Cook’s pay for 2024, three other Apple executives each received the same compensation. Former CFO Luca Maestri, who left the company on New Year’s Day, Deirdre O’Brien, who runs the company’s retail stores and heads up Human Resources, and General Counsel Kate Adams each earned $27,179,257 last year. Jeff Williams, Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, was given a slightly smaller compensation package totaling $27,177,812.
