Apple Board Modifies Tim Cook CEO Bonus Stock Award to Be More Performance Based

[jvmxtra]

The last statistic on phone screen sizes is the sweet spot is right around 4-4.5". Around 12% of people use phones larger then this size.

Another problem is fragmentation which makes it harder for developers to make multiple Apps for different sized phones.

You say you are waiting for Apple to do something great. Making multiple versions/screens is not great, just different.

Making hybrid laptop/tablet Apple is not going to do. All it would do is make a device that is neither a great laptop or a tablet. Touch on a laptop has always been sub par as well as a desktop experience on a tablet, not great as well.

Sweet spot? so apple's iphone is 4 inch and also it's not as wide.. Also it's not anywhere between 4.1 inch and 4.5.. it is dead on 4inch.. so I am not sure what the breakout between 4.1 and 4.5 but you get my point. We must be missing something.(12% + ( whatever the percentile between 4.1-4.5 ). Bottom line is money and apple is turning away from opportunity to make money.

And let's not even say apple only makes great stuff. Iphone 4s and iphone 5 was no great innovation. It was just lazy engineer at apple doing nada for 3 years. And their main selling point? Siri.. wow.. that's just terrible.

Apple keep saying fragmentation and yes apple ecosystem is much better than Android(I am happy about that). But if they think 4 inch is the best, why not make bigger device and have legacy app have letter box(do it based on 4 inch). I mean do something. I know there are many people who are dying to get bigger device.

So hybrid laptop is bad idea but you have seen stale osx upgrade for past 3 years. It's same crap and just incremental upgrade. This is apple's problem. It's stuck on past glory and do not think about changing something drastically. Today's world, this approach doesn't work. They are begging for other company to catch up and supplant them. Windows 8 is getting better and better and Android based desktop version is not far away. Google has wrapped us in all their apps'(btw, don't even get me started on apple's retarded way of not developing their own software to be best.. Safari.. lack of their own email system/software.. map.. universal messenger system) and it will be very easy for them to take over once fundamental infrastructure is there.(admit that this won't be so easy).

I am an apple fan. In my room, I have imac/mba/mb/iphone/ipod touch/apple tv/ipad.. But seriously, apple, kick that dude and start to work on something... geee

 

[Apple Corps]

The majority of the Chinese market is prepaid! There are tons of people who just buy an unlocked iPhone and use it on the GSM network of China Mobile. They don't have to buy it from CMCC. Btw, the performance of TD-SCDMA 3G is not so good. Another issue is that there wasn't a proper world-mode modem that is compatible with TD until quite recently

Apple would not be going after the "majority" of the China market. Tons of people unlocking an iPhone is, IMO, minuscule to the number they would sell if a China Mobile phone.

Not sure of your source or detail that no "proper world-mode modem" was available until recently. If that was an issue, Apple surely could have "driven" the development of a solution years ago.

I guess that at the core of my lack of support for Tim Cook's leadership is the poor stock performance going on a year shortly and little evidence of his ability to get out of the box and start making things happen - overcome those problems. He needs to get past the green data centers, stock buybacks that are squandering cash, little tweaks to his incentive plan, etc. and get the iTV launched, the Mac Pro launched, the China Mobile contract signed, introduce those 4k monitors, etc. - then we will see some stock price improvement.

 

[koban4max]

Wow, just to set the record straight I didn't make the post that you responded to. My name is on it, but I didn't post that message. There's some kind of mix up. The macrumors server has the hicups?

they probably need some kind of GPS system/ ID finder in it..to see who it was....

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Apple is STUPID for losing money based on NOT making multiple sizes.

Huh?

1) It's completely erroneous to state Apple lost money because it hasn't made larger size phone. You could postulate it could have made larger profits if it had a more diverse lineup, but Apple has never has a losing quarter on iPhone sales so you absolutely cannot state as fact that Apple lost money by not making larger iPhones.

2) If you are going to hypothesize that Apple left money on the table because it stuck with a single phone size, OK. State it, then prove it. Otherwise it's just whiny anecdotal rant. Not sure how you are going to prove as fact that "what if" since I doubt you know (or if you do aren't at liberty to discuss) Apple's development costs, size of the actual larger iPhone market, effect of fragmentation on developers, etc., but please go ahead. I'm interested in your theory.

 

[badmac78]

Apple is a publicly owned corporation. It may publicly state that all it wants is to make good products, but in reality, the goal of any publicly owned corporation is to increase its value over time. Apple is no exception.

Steve got paid a $1 base salary, and the rest of his extremely hefty compensation package was based in stock. We can all agree that Apple did just fine when Steve was at the helm. I don't think this change in of itself will have any downside affect on Apple's performance or ability to innovate.

Measuring stock price is not the best measure of return on shareholder value. The stockprice is much more subject to emotion than say Return on Invested Capital - Weighted Average Cost of Capital (Value Gap). I'm more concerned about short term behavior this could drive

 

[jvmxtra]

Huh?

1) It's completely erroneous to state Apple lost money because it hasn't made larger size phone. You could postulate it could have made larger profits if it had a more diverse lineup, but Apple has never has a losing quarter on iPhone sales so you absolutely cannot state as fact that Apple lost money by not making larger iPhones.

2) If you are going to hypothesize that Apple left money on the table because it stuck with a single phone size, OK. State it, then prove it. Otherwise it's just whiny anecdotal rant. Not sure how you are going to prove as fact that "what if" since I doubt you know (or if you do aren't at liberty to discuss) Apple's development costs, size of the actual larger iPhone market, effect of fragmentation on developers, etc., but please go ahead. I'm interested in your theory.

1)Yes, apple never had a losing quarter. It doesn't mean perception of the company has stay the same. Maybe terms that I used was lost on some people but apple did lose opportunity by not making different sizes phones and that is terrible thing.

2)This point will get proven once apple once so firm on one size fits all, start to make other size phones. It's simple as that. As far as development cost? Seriously? They can definitely use majority of the development cost that they didn't incur past 3 years by not coming up w/ something new and use that towards making a bigger phone. You can fight it but it's the truth. People want different size of iphones and only apple is the one company who is afraid to make change. I have been in same tech company for almost 10 years. I have never heard of people bad mouth iphone as much as this past 2 years... Yes, it's small sample but you can still generalize things... Trust me.. there are people who are not happy w/ apple who used to be die hard fans...

 

[Apple Corps]

Measuring stock price is not the best measure of return on shareholder value. The stockprice is much more subject to emotion than say Return on Invested Capital - Weighted Average Cost of Capital (Value Gap). I'm more concerned about short term behavior this could drive

What in the world are you saying? Stock price IS the measure of return on shareholder value. A small component would be dividends - but those are a paltry 3%.

 

[linuxcooldude]

Case in point, the iPad Mini uses the iPad UI without any tweaks whatsoever. The icons haven't been resized, the various buttons and other elements are the same resolution as they are on the larger iPad...it's completely untouched. Yet despite this, I've heard no one complain about it being too hard to use because the UI wasn't "designed for an 8 inch screen".

I don't think Apple is interested in 12% of Android users who prefer these types of screens. It might be a current trend for now, but unless we see people adopting it by wide margins, it may not be feasible for them to do this. Just to adopt a small percentage who do just to switch from Android to Apple.

If or when the iPad mini goes retina, they may have to going to have come out with another set of standards to get everything to fit correctly. Not sure if they can use the current set used for the full sized retina iPad however.

Because Apple doesn't want to pollute their product line up with too many options? The iPod and iPhone are the only two device Apple makes that doesn't have at least two size options.

Could possibly be. Putting out too many models/prices might effect how they sell older models. For instance, when the come out with a new model iPhone, they take the current older model and sell that at a cheaper price on down the line. With a multitude of model/prices may not work in their best interests that may under sell their older models.

I'm pretty sure hybrid laptops or tablets like the Surface Pro are the future.

In their current form, no. Until they figure out how to integrate the tablet/laptop to work flawlessly just how both a tablet works and a laptop/desktop works, I don't see it getting adopted.

And Apple knows it, I'm sure. They're currently doing what they always do, playing the waiting game until they come up with what they think is the perfect implementation of a hybrid device.

Yes, until someone does, then It will probably hit big. But I think it will be quite difficult as their are too many trade offs one way or another for both to work together successfully.

And let's not even say apple only makes great stuff. Iphone 4s and iphone 5 was no great innovation. It was just lazy engineer at apple doing nada for 3 years. And their main selling point? Siri.. wow.. that's just terrible.

Cough...cough...and I suppose the Samsung Galaxy S4 was great innovation?

So hybrid laptop is bad idea but you have seen stale osx upgrade for past 3 years. It's same crap and just incremental upgrade. This is apple's problem. It's stuck on past glory and do not think about changing something drastically.

Thats the very reason Windows 8 is a failure. Trying to put tablet and desktop together didn't/dosent work in the current form. It even caused desktop sales to plummet even further.

Your saying Apple needs to something drastic, well Windows 8 did and alienated their users who could not figure out how to use it. You Can't make huge changes all at one time. You have to do it gradually over time, over several upgrade paths. Thats something we learned with Windows 8.

 

[donutbagel]

Apple stopped innovating. Every other company is at least experimenting with ultrabooks and touchscreens, phones etc.. But not Apple.

How do you know that Apple is not experimenting with new technology? Do you work for Apple?

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Hmmm, looks like iGrip got the time-out. Saw that coming.

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a reminder that most of the criticism are coming from people who

1. never used the new mac pro
2. saw the beta version of an OS
3. claims their "friends" are now switching to android

Well, that would be me
1. I use a 2008 Mac Pro, but I've never seen the new one in real life.
2. I installed iOS 7 beta on my brother's phone to check it out. It's good, but some of the GUI is ugly.
3. ≥90% of my friends use iPhones, but one of them wants a Samsung GS4 (3 others have 'Droids now, one against his will). I don't know if he's going to stick with it because he's a Mac user, and he doesn't really know that much about the GS4.

Still, the iPhone is my favorite because of the syncing. Even if others can stick in faster CPUs or have more hardware features, nobody seems to come close to Apple with the hardware details and software.

 

[jvmxtra]

Your saying Apple needs to something drastic, well Windows 8 did and alienated their users who could not figure out how to use it. You Can't make huge changes all at one time. You have to do it gradually over time, over several upgrade paths. Thats something we learned with Windows 8.

Understand your points but I am just saying.. Apple has been stagnant for past years and this is the year that I will switch over to droid. Whether people want to accept or not, that's been happening lot lately.
Drastic? How about doing something? Apple got too big for it's own good.

 

[linuxcooldude]

Understand your points but I am just saying.. Apple has been stagnant for past years and this is the year that I will switch over to droid. Whether people want to accept or not, that's been happening lot lately.
Drastic? How about doing something? Apple got too big for it's own good.

Ok, I see. Doing something or in other words "change just for change" sake. I tend to see people go this route when they just want something different whether or not it really brings anything useful or intuitive.

Android, sure i suppose smart scroll, pause, Air gesture is your thing. Sure its "Doing something" not very useful in my opinion.

Its shown more people tend to switch from Android to the iPhone rather then the other way around.

 

[Tubamajuba]

Well I, for one, hope the new Mac Pro is awesome. I would buy it. I just didn't like the fact Gruber linked to that article when what was written within it was pure hogwash. It's just PC parts in a very cool new form factor, and yes there are limitations. Maybe it will still be incredible, and maybe Apple has been working incredibly hard on OpenCL enabled implementations of more of their software. If so this Mac Pro would be wicked. But there are definitely roadblocks to GPGPU based software, and all of it is possible on the PC side as well. That's the problem. In a lot of ways it's all the same stuff, you're just getting Apple packaging.

We will see what happens...

It's all up in the air at this point, but I personally think it will be awesome. Like you said, we'll see pretty soon.

That's 12% of the population who isn't buying an Apple product.



This shouldn't be an issue in this day and age when even our phones have enough CPU power and memory to use vector images without any performance issues. If iOS were built around maintaining a consistent size for icons and UI elements completely independent of resolution, then the problem of various screen sizes wouldn't be an problem at all. Of course there should be two UIs built to cater to larger screened devices vs. smaller ones, much as it is now for the iPhone and iPad. But it doesn't have to be so specific. The optimal goal should be to set up your OS to allow for a ton of flexibility among a variety of screen sizes without any sacrifice to usability.

And no, the current set up developers faces isn't because "Apple has determined the perfect size for the easiest to use UI among all their deviecs". It's either laziness on Apple's part, of they're having trouble converting over to a res independent UI. Case in point, the iPad Mini uses the iPad UI without any tweaks whatsoever. The icons haven't been resized, the various buttons and other elements are the same resolution as they are on the larger iPad...it's completely untouched. Yet despite this, I've heard no one complain about it being too hard to use because the UI wasn't "designed for an 8 inch screen".




Not everything has to be completely industry redefining and earth shattering before it should be implemented Larger screen sizes aren't innovative in the least, but they sure as hell are useful for the people who want or need them. So why is Apple waiting around to give us a larger iPhone?

Because it doesn't work? Obviously the market thinks otherwise. Even huge, hulking beast phones/tablet/phablet/wotzits like the Galaxy Note line are selling fairly well.

Because Apple doesn't want to pollute their product line up with too many options? The iPod and iPhone are the only two device Apple makes that doesn't have at least two size options.



I'm pretty sure hybrid laptops or tablets like the Surface Pro are the future. Like I've said previously, we're seeing an entire generation of kids growing up around touch based devices. They're going to want to use touch for everything computer related. Mice will soon be relegated to specialized tool status, and touchpads will be seen as a cheap alternative to touchscreens that does the job, but doesn't work nearly as well. It'll be a little while yet before it truly hits, but the change is coming.

And Apple knows it, I'm sure. They're currently doing what they always do, playing the waiting game until they come up with what they think is the perfect implementation of a hybrid device.

I disagree with you on the Surface Pro being an example of the future. But being that we're talking about the future, my disagreement means nothing.

That said, you have a well written post right there. A couple things, though-

1.) You pointed out that Apple is missing out on the 12% of people with huge phones. I'm not sure Apple cares about that 12%. It's not that Apple doesn't want to sell phones to them, but they're not going to go out of their way to manufacture a phone geared towards people that want a phablet-like device.

2.) Regarding the iPad mini, there's a reason why Apple put a 7.9" display in it. At that size, the DPI is exactly the same as the first three iPhone models. Hence why nobody complains about the iPad mini's size- the icons and UI elements on the mini match those of the iPhone. Pretty smart solution, if you ask me. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that iOS isn't resolution independent. I suspect that's to make it easier for developers, but that will change if Apple keeps adding screen sizes.

 

[linuxcooldude]

I disagree with you on the Surface Pro being an example of the future. But being that we're talking about the future, my disagreement means nothing.

Actually, it wasn't the future 10 years ago when they first started making tablets with a full desktop x86 operating system. WinRT, maybe.

2.) Regarding the iPad mini, there's a reason why Apple put a 7.9" display in it. At that size, the DPI is exactly the same as the first three iPhone models. Hence why nobody complains about the iPad mini's size- the icons and UI elements on the mini match those of the iPhone. Pretty smart solution, if you ask me. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that iOS isn't resolution independent. I suspect that's to make it easier for developers, but that will change if Apple keeps adding screen sizes.

I should of centered on that point as well. All applications transitioned perfectly to the iPad Mini without having to rewrite them. Thats why it was designed that way, good point.

 

[Tubamajuba]

Actually, it wasn't the future 10 years ago when they first started making tablets with a full desktop x86 operating system. WinRT, maybe.



I should of centered on that point as well. All applications transitioned perfectly to the iPad Mini without having to rewrite them. Thats why it was designed that way, good point.

Admittedly, the Surface Pro is quite a bit better than the x86 tablets that were in existence a decade ago. Still not a "no compromises" device, of course. And yeah, I don't know of a single instance where a developer had issues transitioning their app to the iPad mini. At least, not an issue involving the screen size.

 

[Renzatic]

I disagree with you on the Surface Pro being an example of the future. But being that we're talking about the future, my disagreement means nothing.

As it is right now, no. It's a little too heavy, the battery doesn't last nearly long enough (BRING ON HASWELL, MS), and the UI isn't completely built around touch.

But even with those admittedly huge snags, I do like what it represents. It's a tablet built around flexibility. I can use a mouse when I need to use a mouse, one a stylus for when I need a stylus, and touch when it's most comfortable. It's doesn't try to pigeonhole you into accepting one usage scenario. Touch doesn't work for everything. It's nice having access to the tools you need to best get the job done.

To me, the Future isn't the Surface Pro exactly, nor is it the iPad. It's the perfect mix of both. The iPad's comfortable design and touch driven UI, and the Pro's power and flexibility. This'll be the perfect tablet.

That said, you have a well written post right there. A couple things, though-

1.) You pointed out that Apple is missing out on the 12% of people with huge phones. I'm not sure Apple cares about that 12%. It's not that Apple doesn't want to sell phones to them, but they're not going to go out of their way to manufacture a phone geared towards people that want a phablet-like device.

12% is a goodly chunk of people, and they're sales that Apple will never get with their current device structure. I do agree with you that they probably don't want to chase the Phablet market, but if they offered something slightly smaller, say a wider 4.5"-5" screen, which would still easy to carry around and use without feeling too unwieldy, they'd offer a compelling alternative to Samsung's Note line without eating into their iPad sales.

Or hell, maybe they could just add a cell radio to the Mini.

2.) Regarding the iPad mini, there's a reason why Apple put a 7.9" display in it. At that size, the DPI is exactly the same as the first three iPhone models. Hence why nobody complains about the iPad mini's size- the icons and UI elements on the mini match those of the iPhone. Pretty smart solution, if you ask me. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that iOS isn't resolution independent. I suspect that's to make it easier for developers, but that will change if Apple keeps adding screen sizes.

It's easier for developers and easier for Apple both, and it's worked out really well for them so far. Problem is, people are wanting bigger iPhones, which means that, no matter how much Apple otherwise wants, this current setup won't work for them forever. They're gonna have to go resolution independent at some point.

 

[nascimento]

Measuring stock price is not the best measure of return on shareholder value. The stockprice is much more subject to emotion than say Return on Invested Capital - Weighted Average Cost of Capital (Value Gap). I'm more concerned about short term behavior this could drive

Your right, we only have to take a look at 2008 to understand this behavior. Unnecessary mergers, acquisitions, IPOs, falsely inflated stock prices to cater to Wall Street and make quick buck for the CEOs and "Top" layer shareholders etc.

Still happens. Apple should not follow this route.

 

[antonis]

Is more symbolic than anything else but it is clear that Apple is not the same company and that there is not actual innovation.

1. The Mac Pro... it is just hardware but the shape is not wow at all.
2. iOS7 new interface looks weak
3. The rest of the peripherals are just thinner.

So... yeap, a consumer company but not innovative and the CEO has to keep it that way.

I won't agree on any of these.

1. New Mac Pro seems to be the new standard in h/w industrial desktop design. I'm sure we'll see several cheap copies of it in the near future from the usual suspects.

2. Have you used it ? I am. Even the first beta (which has a long way to go till release) looks to hit the target. Someone in another thread said that apple should focus on delivering a iOS with more easily accessible info to keep up with the competition, make the device feel more complete. They did that. Even while it has bugs and unfinished features right now, I cannot even go back and use iOS 6. It's that good.

3. They are not "just" thinner, they are most of the times designed and manufactured with revolutionary methods. Even when they are not, you cannot really expect from a company to innovate in every single iteration of evert single product it launches.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

1)Yes, apple never had a losing quarter. It doesn't mean perception of the company has stay the same. Maybe terms that I used was lost on some people but apple did lose opportunity by not making different sizes phones and that is terrible thing.

2)This point will get proven once apple once so firm on one size fits all, start to make other size phones. It's simple as that. As far as development cost? Seriously? They can definitely use majority of the development cost that they didn't incur past 3 years by not coming up w/ something new and use that towards making a bigger phone. You can fight it but it's the truth. People want different size of iphones and only apple is the one company who is afraid to make change. I have been in same tech company for almost 10 years. I have never heard of people bad mouth iphone as much as this past 2 years... Yes, it's small sample but you can still generalize things... Trust me.. there are people who are not happy w/ apple who used to be die hard fans...

[Bolded above for emphasis]

Yes, you can generalize and use anecdotal observation all day long. But doing so won't turn it to bona fide data to prove your point. (Most of my friends have blue cars therefore blue must be the most popular color for cars). The hasty generalization is itself a type of logical fallacy by definition. All you have done here is reword your original post, but its still just personal frustration and anecdotal observations -- no hard facts to buttress your points.

Let me know if you find some. I'm still interested.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Is more symbolic than anything else but it is clear that Apple is not the same company and that there is not actual innovation.

1. The Mac Pro... it is just hardware but the shape is not wow at all.
2. iOS7 new interface looks weak
3. The rest of the peripherals are just thinner.

So... yeap, a consumer company but not innovative and the CEO has to keep it that way.

Whether you like the new Mac Pro or iOS7 or not (and I find it hard for anyone to really judge since they are not in the wild yet) its clear from the preview that the new MP was designed for future, not the past, and that the shape was not random but to assist in cooling (think of a turbine engine or even an attic fan). We'll have to see how well it works, but on its fact it is novel approach for a desktop.

Also people who complain Apple isn't the same probably don't realize Steve Jobs most likely had a hand in the MP design. He only passed away two years ago. At a minimum the new MP was in the early design and concept phase & signed off on the project or advised Apple. So you can't have it both ways.

The silly argument about Apple not innovating is that with exception of Steve Jobs it's essentially the same brain trust. Steve Jobs himself was not as much of an engineer as a marketer. He knew what people wanted before they knew they wanted it -- indeed the iPod, the iPod mini, iPod nano, and iPad were lampooned here on MR at their respective introductions. But ultimately the people at Apple are just that... humans. They have to take a break to reset and gain perspective once in a while.

But if you think its so easy to come up with novel products then I encourage you to present yours on a crowd funded sight like Kickstarter. It certainly would be a more productive use of your time than moaning that Apple is out of ideas. Prove you are better and smarter than all the upper level execs at Apple combined -- and make it original. No latching on to Apple's wagon.

 

[Rogifan]

Who cares whether Steve Jobs was involved in the new Mac Pro or not. His involvement (or lack there of) doesn't make it a good or bad product. Of course people that don't like it will claim Steve wouldn't have approved. But take any product Apple released in the last decade and release it tomorrow and I'll bet a fair number of people will claim Steve would never have approved.

 

[Wicked1]

So you'd rather have a caretaker CEO who can focus on nothing and still get paid as much?

I see this as entirely positive with no real downside. The job of the board and the shareholders is to determine if he's innovating and to fire him if not. This is just an added bonus if the company does well (and, historically, Apple has prospered the most during times of innovation, so innovation and stock price aren't mutually exclusive).

Tell me what CEO deserves that much compensation anyway, they all make 400-800X times what the average employee makes. The worst part is all of the boards are made up of other executives all getting paid very high, so anyone on top will always be paid way more that the average Joe employee.

Employee's are based on performance, you do not perform, then your gone, they need to stick everything like this to top level folks too, enough Golden Parachutes, Mr. Cook can still live a very good life with only a few million a year. This guy is getting nearly 1 Billion with everything in 10 Years, that is way too much.

 

[rotax]

Very bad idea

I've been a share holder of APPL and many other companies. In particular for Apple I see this as a bad idea. The market values companies based on the perceived ability for growth. Every time Apple does well in their quarterly earnings the market says, they cannot possible top this and so the stock drops. I'd rather see the board set internal ( and private, could be released some time after no longer competitively relevant) performance targets in what Apple sees as key business areas from a strategic perspective and tell Wall Street to go pound sand. This has the potential to put, pick your typical market manipulating analyst or MM in the drivers seat. Jobs would have never ever ever let this happen.

This is the board abdicating its responsibility to lead to Wall Street

 

[Crzyrio]

That's mostly Haswell, not Apple. Samsung just announced their new Ativ Book 9. It also get's 12 hours of battery life, but with a 3,200 x 1,800 touch screen. And it's thinner and lighter than the MBA. That sounds more innovative to me.

The difference is when Samsung announces something, it does not necessarily mean it is coming out soon.

Heck from the looks of it they have not yet announced the release date, the price or the processor being used.

So your essentially comparing something that is going to come on the market 4-8 months from now

 

[bluenix]

... I am NOT a Tim Cook supporter - he has been a disaster from a shareholder perspective....

I still don't see the problem with all the stock price drama. The stock is a bit down. Yes, A BIT. In 2012 it made a huge jump from 400 to 700. With no logical reason. So it came down from that again, all normal. It will grow again, I have no reason to doubt that. But probably at a pace that reflects Apple's growth and the market. Not some hype.

As a shareholder Tim hasn't been a disaster for me. The paid-out dividends are enough for a new Apple gadget every year for me.

 

[dougny]

There is NO real give back here, this is all for false good will. Cook's compensation is tied to "Total Shareholder Value" which compares Apple's performance to other companies. But since Apple has already announced MASSIVE dividend payments, Cook already knew these shares are virtually guaranteed based on previously planned initiatives. There are not 30 company's that are going to releases 10's of billions of profits over the next decade like Apple is going to do. What this is going to do for Cook, which is VERY valuable, is it is going to vest a significant amount of the stock much earlier than he was going to receive it. Before, it was half in 2016 and half in 2021, not its 10% per year. He will be far ahead of his prior position much earlier. This is not Tim Cook giving anything back, this is him gaining something more in a BS package to shareholders as some sort of Robin Hood.