Apple Hardware Chief Bob Mansfield Cashes in Nearly $12.5 Million in Stock Options

[MacRumors]

As revealed in a regulatory filing yesterday, Apple senior vice president for hardware engineering Bob Mansfield on Monday exercised a set of stock options he has held for a number of years, immediately selling off the stock for a gain of nearly $12.5 million. Under the stock option program, Mansfield was eligible to purchase 30,000 of Apple stock at a price of $36.54 per share and immediately sold them off in several batches averaging $452.28 per share.

Mansfield's stock options dated back to an award made in June of 2005 as an enticement for him to stay with the company over the next several years. Those options fully vested by June 2009, but Mansfield has been holding onto them since that time as Apple's stock has continued to surge. With the options set to expire in June of this year and Apple's stock continuing to perform well, Mansfield undoubtedly thought that this would be an excellent time to exercise those options.

Mansfield has been a relatively active participant in Apple's stock option and grant award programs for its senior executives, regularly cashing in his shares while continuing to hold only a small amount of stock. With the quick sale of this week's shares obtained through the options, Mansfield owns only 501 shares of Apple stock.

His stock sales do not mean that he is not invested with the company, however, as Mansfield currently holds one restricted stock unit grant that would see him earn 100,000 shares in 2014 and a second grant of 150,000 shares that will vest in two equal portions in June 2013 and March 2016. All of those grants, which together would be worth roughly $114 million at Apple's current stock price, are contingent upon Mansfield remaining with Apple.

Article Link: Apple Hardware Chief Bob Mansfield Cashes in Nearly $12.5 Million in Stock Options

[ombrenelcielo]

a sea of money.

[daneoni]

Is it me or is he the only one (out of the execs) who seems to cash in...frequently?

EDIT: Yup...not just me.

Originally Posted by MacRumors

Mansfield has been a relatively active participant in Apple's stock option...regularly cashing in his shares...

[gmcalpin]

One of his kids must be about to graduate high school. Time to pay for college!

[nick_elt]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

I bet he will stay with apple until 2016 at the earliest.

[abhishake]

That gambling debt will get you.

[MagnusVonMagnum]

It's a good time to cash out. He knows with Steve gone, Apple can only go down in the long run and they're already massively over-valued as it is. They were $83 a share just a few years ago. Over $450 a share? Come on. It would be stupid to invest at that price (and yes there are people at work I know buying it because someone told them it was a $500 stock...yes it might hit $500 for awhile, but gaining $50 isn't worth the risk of it dropping hundreds like it did a few years ago when it went from around $300 to $83 almost overnight). And this time it will NOT come back because Apple is now run by the same types that destroyed it the first time around. Apple has a few more years of profitability based on current products like the iPhone and iPad, but without a visionary to keep the products coming, it's only a matter of time and the stock will start slipping LONG before the profits end (and you don't make a dime when it drops...you lose your shirt and everything else you put into it). Clearly, Bob Mansfield is fully aware of this as the hardware chief and he's taking it to the bank. Kudos to Bob.

[rdowns]

Originally Posted by MagnusVonMagnum

It's a good time to cash out. He knows with Steve gone, Apple can only go down in the long run and they're already massively over-valued as it is. They were $83 a share just a few years ago. Over $450 a share? Come on. It would be stupid to invest at that price (and yes there are people at work I know buying it because someone told them it was a $500 stock...yes it might hit $500 for awhile, but gaining $50 isn't worth the risk of it dropping hundreds like it did a few years ago when it went from around $300 to $83 almost overnight). And this time it will NOT come back because Apple is now run by the same types that destroyed it the first time around. Apple has a few more years of profitability based on current products like the iPhone and iPad, but without a visionary to keep the products coming, it's only a matter of time and the stock will start slipping LONG before the profits end (and you don't make a dime when it drops...you lose your shirt and everything else you put into it). Clearly, Bob Mansfield is fully aware of this as the hardware chief and he's taking it to the bank. Kudos to Bob.

Did you even read the story before you posted? These options were set to expire in June. In other words, use them or lose them. And as stated in the story, he has been active in cashing out his options.

"Apple is now run by the same types that destroyed it the first time around" Where do people get this stuff?

[Dhelsdon]

I hate hearing about other people getting rich.. What I would do for a handful of AAPL stocks!!

[fhall1]

Originally Posted by MagnusVonMagnum

It's a good time to cash out. He knows with Steve gone, Apple can only go down in the long run and they're already massively over-valued as it is. They were $83 a share just a few years ago. Over $450 a share? Come on. It would be stupid to invest at that price (and yes there are people at work I know buying it because someone told them it was a $500 stock...yes it might hit $500 for awhile, but gaining $50 isn't worth the risk of it dropping hundreds like it did a few years ago when it went from around $300 to $83 almost overnight). And this time it will NOT come back because Apple is now run by the same types that destroyed it the first time around. Apple has a few more years of profitability based on current products like the iPhone and iPad, but without a visionary to keep the products coming, it's only a matter of time and the stock will start slipping LONG before the profits end (and you don't make a dime when it drops...you lose your shirt and everything else you put into it). Clearly, Bob Mansfield is fully aware of this as the hardware chief and he's taking it to the bank. Kudos to Bob.

Look at Apple's P/E ratio - or pretty much any other comparitive number of stock valuation and compare it to other tech firms....just how do you figure Apple is overvalued? Just because of a high share price? Is Berkshire Hathaway overvalued because the stock sells for $118,500 per share?

[TurboMoses]

No one can call him an idiot for making out with over 12 million, really.



His bro looks just as stoked:

[rmwebs]

Originally Posted by Dhelsdon

I hate hearing about other people getting rich.. What I would do for a handful of APL stocks!!

APL is not that expensive...$37.53 currently.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=APL&ql=1

I'd rather have AAPL stock though

[URFloorMatt]

Originally Posted by MagnusVonMagnum

It's a good time to cash out. He knows with Steve gone, Apple can only go down in the long run and they're already massively over-valued as it is. They were $83 a share just a few years ago. Over $450 a share? Come on. It would be stupid to invest at that price (and yes there are people at work I know buying it because someone told them it was a $500 stock...yes it might hit $500 for awhile, but gaining $50 isn't worth the risk of it dropping hundreds like it did a few years ago when it went from around $300 to $83 almost overnight). And this time it will NOT come back because Apple is now run by the same types that destroyed it the first time around. Apple has a few more years of profitability based on current products like the iPhone and iPad, but without a visionary to keep the products coming, it's only a matter of time and the stock will start slipping LONG before the profits end (and you don't make a dime when it drops...you lose your shirt and everything else you put into it). Clearly, Bob Mansfield is fully aware of this as the hardware chief and he's taking it to the bank. Kudos to Bob.

Spoken like someone who knows absolutely nothing about SEC regulations.

[nick_elt]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Originally Posted by MagnusVonMagnum

It's a good time to cash out. He knows with Steve gone, Apple can only go down in the long run and they're already massively over-valued as it is. They were $83 a share just a few years ago. Over $450 a share? Come on. It would be stupid to invest at that price (and yes there are people at work I know buying it because someone told them it was a $500 stock...yes it might hit $500 for awhile, but gaining $50 isn't worth the risk of it dropping hundreds like it did a few years ago when it went from around $300 to $83 almost overnight). And this time it will NOT come back because Apple is now run by the same types that destroyed it the first time around. Apple has a few more years of profitability based on current products like the iPhone and iPad, but without a visionary to keep the products coming, it's only a matter of time and the stock will start slipping LONG before the profits end (and you don't make a dime when it drops...you lose your shirt and everything else you put into it). Clearly, Bob Mansfield is fully aware of this as the hardware chief and he's taking it to the bank. Kudos to Bob.

I suppose you think the world will end in december aswell so everyone sell up and buy a bunker!

[theBB]

Originally Posted by MagnusVonMagnum

It's a good time to cash out. He knows with Steve gone, Apple can only go down in the long run and they're already massively over-valued as it is. They were $83 a share just a few years ago. Over $450 a share?

Did you check how much the profits of Apple went up during the same time period? Keep in mind, these are not paper profits like banks can declare based on risky assets that may cost them a lot in the future if some "unlikely" event happens. These are all earned profits, based on paid products, most of which are already out of warranty.

[surf2snow1]

Originally Posted by MagnusVonMagnum

They were $83 a share just a few years ago. Over $450 a share? Come on.

Remember AAPL hit $3 in 1997. People still invested when it got to $83. Its a strong company now.

[FloatingBones]

Originally Posted by MagnusVonMagnum

It's a good time to cash out.[SNIP]

If you would actually make some time-specific predictions, this kind of message might be interesting. But you don't. It's just sort of a vague "the sky is falling" sort of message.

Do you have any specific predictions -- with dates? By xx/xx/20xx, the stock value will be no higher than $xxxxxx.

Do you follow the claim chowder messages on Daring Fireball? At least those media members have the stones to actually make specific predictions.

[TurboMoses]

Originally Posted by FloatingBones

If you would actually make some time-specific predictions, this kind of message might be interesting. But you don't. It's just sort of a vague "the sky is falling" sort of message.

Do you have any specific predictions -- with dates? By xx/xx/20xx, the stock value will be no higher than $xxxxxx.

Do you follow the claim chowder messages on Daring Fireball? At least those media members have the stones to actually make specific predictions.

I don't think he claimed to be an expert either. I think all he was noting that it is a somewhat unpredictable time for Apple.

[acfusion29]

Originally Posted by Dhelsdon

I hate hearing about other people getting rich.. What I would do for a handful of APL stocks!!

why? do something with your life and you can, maybe someday, be like him.

it's not like he won the lottery. he earned this money.

[powers74]

Originally Posted by abhishake

That gambling debt will get you.

Those were my thoughts exactly!

Originally Posted by gmcalpin

One of his kids must be about to graduate high school. Time to pay for college!

Though this is another likely possibility

[CalWizrd]

Originally Posted by MagnusVonMagnum

It's a good time to cash out. He knows with Steve gone, Apple can only go down in the long run and they're already massively over-valued as it is. They were $83 a share just a few years ago. Over $450 a share? Come on. It would be stupid to invest at that price (and yes there are people at work I know buying it because someone told them it was a $500 stock...yes it might hit $500 for awhile, but gaining $50 isn't worth the risk of it dropping hundreds like it did a few years ago when it went from around $300 to $83 almost overnight). And this time it will NOT come back because Apple is now run by the same types that destroyed it the first time around. Apple has a few more years of profitability based on current products like the iPhone and iPad, but without a visionary to keep the products coming, it's only a matter of time and the stock will start slipping LONG before the profits end (and you don't make a dime when it drops...you lose your shirt and everything else you put into it). Clearly, Bob Mansfield is fully aware of this as the hardware chief and he's taking it to the bank. Kudos to Bob.

You certainly seem like quite a sophisticated investor. Very shrewd. A pretty perceptive reader, too.

NOT!

[Ironduke]

Isn't this the Funboy who is responsible for sh***y GFX cards in todays Macs.

hmm go Figure

[paul4339]

Originally Posted by gmcalpin

One of his kids must be about to graduate high school. Time to pay for college!

either that, or his ex-wife's lawyers are after him.

.

[DrMotownMac]

Originally Posted by turbomoses

no one can call him an idiot for making out with over 12 million, really.



His bro looks just as stoked:
image

lol!!

[BrentD]

Originally Posted by powers74

Those were my thoughts exactly!

Though this is another likely possibility

Paying for his kid's college? The guy can probably do that with a month's salary...and another month's to buy the kid a new car and house to live in while away at school.

Originally Posted by TurboMoses

No one can call him an idiot for making out with over 12 million, really.

His bro looks just as stoked:
Image

I couldn't help but thinking he reminded me of Smykowski in Office Space...the guy who invented the Jump to Conclusions Mat. Maybe he has some stellar invention he has to pay for...