Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
You guys realize that when a CEO, or any other insider, sells stock they can't just hit sell button, right? its illegal for CEOs to sell based on non-public information. So sales are typically done according to a trading plan filed well in advance with the SEC.

And you do know he saw the final version months before we did. In theory yes, he did hit the sell button like all of us but has the advantage...he saw the final product and can guess, is this going sell well or not. Don't take a rocker scientist to figure this one out. Your perspective is looking at it one way, but have to look at both sides. Or else when you go to court, your automatically found guilty.
 
And you do know he saw the final version months before we did. In theory yes, he did hit the sell button like all of us but has the advantage...he saw the final product and can guess, is this going sell well or not. Don't take a rocker scientist to figure this one out. Your perspective is looking at it one way, but have to look at both sides. Or else when you go to court, your automatically found guilty.
There's the realistic side and there's the imaginary side--certainly doesn't mean that both would/should get equal consideration.
 
  • Like
Reactions: doelcm82
Apple is doomed...

Elimination of headphone jack because of drawing error but now too late to change design. Sell now or eat dog food!!!
 
And you do know he saw the final version months before we did. In theory yes, he did hit the sell button like all of us but has the advantage...he saw the final product and can guess, is this going sell well or not. Don't take a rocker scientist to figure this one out. Your perspective is looking at it one way, but have to look at both sides. Or else when you go to court, your automatically found guilty.
You're saying that he knew ahead of the rest of us that the iPhone 7 was going to be a failure. Far enough in advance to schedule a trade. He had information that you didn't have about it. Information that you still don't have. You can't trade on the iPhone 7's failure because you and all the other investors still think it's going to be a blazing success!
 
How much stock does Tim Cook still have? If this is some large portion of what he originally had, like half, I'd be scared. These execs can't just buy/sell whenever they want, so a big position change like this is going to be long-term. EDIT: He still has 1.6M shares. I suck at skimming articles.

By the way, AFAIK, Steve Jobs used to always hold onto his stock and take dividends instead. EDIT: No, my memory isn't right. AAPL didn't issue dividends back then.
 
Last edited:
I thought the whole point of paying a CEO in stock is so they can sell the stock and turn it into cash.

It sounds like he did exactly that.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: SteveW928
How much stock does Tim Cook still have? If this is some large portion of what he originally had, like half, I'd be scared. These execs can't just buy/sell whenever they want, so a big position change like this is going to be long-term.

By the way, AFAIK, Steve Jobs used to always hold onto his stock and take dividends instead.
The article mentions the following:

"Tim Cook continues to hold more than 1.3 million shares of Apple stock following the sale, which is worth more than $140 million."
 
He's 55 years old, life is short. I would think he's a complete moron if he DIDN'T sell some of his stock. Good for him! What's he going to do, take the rest of the 140 million to the grave? I would have sold more.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SteveW928



cook_hero.png
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently sold more than $35 million worth of Apple stock, according documents filed with the SEC this week.

Cook sold 334,000 shares at prices ranging from $107.21 to $107.69, netting himself almost $36 million dollars.

Apple also sold more than 656,000 shares on Tim Cook's behalf, an amount over $70 million, to settle the tax liability for the RSUs that vested earlier this week as he reached his five-year anniversary as CEO of Apple.

Cook on Wednesday unlocked awarded stock bonuses worth more than $100 million for both his time spent at Apple and the company's performance under his leadership, earning 1,260,000 total shares.

That number consists of 980,000 tenure-based RSUs and an allotment of 280,000 shares awarded because Apple's shareholder return reached 61%, putting it in the top-performing third of the S&P 500 index.

Tim Cook continues to hold more than 1.3 million shares of Apple stock following the sale, which is worth more than $140 million.

Article Link: Apple CEO Tim Cook Sells More Than $35M in Stock

Tim was in Monterey last week and bought a ferrari?
 
Can't sell stock, my ass!
Now that's what I call innovation!
[doublepost=1472431063][/doublepost]
The article mentions the following:

"Tim Cook continues to hold more than 1.3 million shares of Apple stock following the sale, which is worth more than $140 million."
"Cook on Wednesday unlocked awarded stock bonuses worth more than $100 million for both his time spent at Apple and the company's performance under his leadership, earning 1,260,000 total shares." TC sold what he had b4 these new shares became unlocked.
 
Now that's what I call innovation!
[doublepost=1472431063][/doublepost]
"Cook on Wednesday unlocked awarded stock bonuses worth more than $100 million for both his time spent at Apple and the company's performance under his leadership, earning 1,260,000 total shares." TC sold what he had b4 these new shares became unlocked.
What effect does that have on how many shares he still holds?
 
I'm wondering now...

If the next iPhone comes out, and it sells like hotcakes (whether or not the nerds like the features or lack thereof), will all the folks now insisting that Tim Cook is selling shares of his own volition because he knows that the new iPhone is awful and will not sell and Apple is DOOMED!™... If it sells really well, will all those folks come back to this thread and apologize for having been foolish and for casting aspersions on the motives and character of a person they don't know?

It's neat that you get to scream bloody murder for months on end, with absolutely no repercussions if it turns out you were wrong.

For my part, if the next iPhone tanks and Tim Cook is indicted for insider trading, I promise to come back here and apologize for not believing you.
 
Last edited:
I always thought that the Apple dividend was fairly recent and started after the Steve Jobs era ?
You're right. Apple didn't issue dividends until sometime in 2013. I must've been thinking of something else.
[doublepost=1472438374][/doublepost]
The article mentions the following:

"Tim Cook continues to hold more than 1.3 million shares of Apple stock following the sale, which is worth more than $140 million."
My bad, I looked through and somehow missed the last line.
 
Insiders, including CEOs, sell stock all the time. No matter how much you believe in your own company, it is foolish to have 100% of your wealth in one stock. Selling of stock by the CEO means nothing.

As they say, insiders can sell for all kinds of different reasons, but they only buy for one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1041958
I'm wondering now...

If the next iPhone comes out, and it sells like hotcakes (whether or not the nerds like the features or lack thereof), will all the folks now insisting that Tim Cook is selling shares of his own volition because he knows that the new iPhone is awful and will not sell and Apple is DOOMED!™... If it sells really well, will all those folks come back to this thread and apologize for having been foolish and for casting aspersions on the motives and character of a person they don't know.

If the iPhone sells well and the stock goes up, then they will still criticize Cook. This time for insider trading because he knew the iPhone was going to be a massive success and he purposely held onto that $140 million in shares since he KNEW it was going to be worth a lot more. Cook just sold $35 million to "make it look good" when his game plan was to make a killling off the rest of his shares.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CarlJ and C DM
Wow! A bunch of high profile people (including the CEO) unloading their stocks cannot be a coincidence. They know the company's value is overestimated and that the future is not bright for Apple. If I was on the board I would try to get rid of Tim sooner than later.

Good, you are so totally clueless, like most people posting so far.

The CEO of a company cannot just decide to sell some shares and sell them. If he sold for the reason you say Tim Cook would go to jail for insider trading. What has happened is that he scheduled this sale a long time ahead (probably six months or more), and once the date comes up, the sale goes through, no matter where you or I or Tim Cook think the stock is going.

And share options are part of his compensation. They are supposed to be turned into money. The only guy so far who was probably right or close was the one who said "Tim Cook wants a new yacht".
[doublepost=1472459450][/doublepost]
Not many people understanding how the system works. When news break out about Tim Cook selling his stock, the first thought is he is dumping the stock and he is not believing Apple.

My first thought is that you can't buy a yacht with share options. To do that you need to cash in the share options.
 
Considering how Apple Store employees are treated and how Foxconn workers are treated, the man is a little bit evil.
What exactly is wrong with the way Apple Store employees are treated? Could you name a major retail store that treats its employees better? What exactly is wrong at Foxconn? Could you name a manufacturer in China that pays its workers more and treats them better?
 
  • Like
Reactions: CarlJ and KazKam
Um, does anyone here understand tax law? He just hit his 5-year anniversary, meaning certain stock options vested. When options become vested, they're treated as income and must be taxed. Whenever executives' options vest, they have to sell a portion of their stock to cover the tax liability.

Like, duh...

But the other 1/3? Play cash.

Not true. That's a popular storyline to try and gloss over the fact that these wealthy individuals can They can actually afford to pay the tax out of their existing cash holding.

Let's face it, he chose to cash in. It's an asset allocation choice.
 
And you do know he saw the final version months before we did. In theory yes, he did hit the sell button like all of us but has the advantage...he saw the final product and can guess, is this going sell well or not. Don't take a rocker scientist to figure this one out. Your perspective is looking at it one way, but have to look at both sides. Or else when you go to court, your automatically found guilty.

You are accusing Tim Cook of criminal activities, that he would go to jail for if found out. Trading based on insider information is illegal. Do you seriously think Tim Cook, who was clever enough to get one of the most well paying jobs available in the world, is so stupid that he risks going to jail for a few extra dollars?
 
  • Like
Reactions: CarlJ and SteveW928
Is this any surprise to anyone ? The iPhone 7 is coming out and he knows sales will tumble because everyone's waiting till 2018 to upgrade there phones ! I've said it before I'll say it again this jack needs to go !!!
 
Is this any surprise to anyone ? The iPhone 7 is coming out and he knows sales will tumble because everyone's waiting till 2018 to upgrade there phones ! I've said it before I'll say it again this jack needs to go !!!
Seems like a lot of the thread has been overlooked or ignored. Even just the preceding post would have done the job.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CarlJ
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.