Apple's Retail Chief Angela Ahrendts and Top Lawyer Bruce Sewell Each Sell Over $10 Million in Stock

[BeatCrazy]

I agree that the timing isn't a big deal, but you should pay attention to the fraction of their stock they sold: If they believe the stock price will be going up, they'll sell a smaller fraction of their shares than if they believe it's peaked.

For all we know, they're each getting thousands of more shares, in the near future, as part of their comp plan.

Keep in mind, selling shares (and working hard to make the stock price grow), is essentially part of their pay plan. They probably have relatively low salaries, and the Apple board expects them to sell stock in order to make their overall salary package competitive with similarly-paid positions in the industry.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Generally the executive compensation includes the option to buy shares X number of shares at a set price. If the price of shares goes above that set price, these executives can buy those shares at a gain. Though they can buy them at a gain, they also must hold them for a set period of time, generally 3-5 years, at which point they can then sell them. They must announce this intended sale to the SEC months ahead of time, which prevents them from selling right before bad news is announced.

This is all part of executive compensation. It gives them an incentive to push for better company performance which they're then rewarded for.

Selling isn't an indicator of anything. You must sell those shares in order to get money. The shares themselves mean little as they can't be used to buy anything, build a house, etc. Zuckerburg has cashed out plenty of shares, as has Gates, Bezos, and others. It simply means they need cash rather than letting the shares remain invested.

 

[doelcm82]

Before people start claiming that this indicates a downfall coming for Apple, know that executives can only sell stock at certain times which are dictated by their contracts. They can't simply sell any time they think things are going to go bad.

They must also file these sales months ahead of time. This prevents any of them from dumping their stock if they've got inside information that something bad is coming.

Yes, people made that claim about Tim Cook last year when he sold, but as it turned out he left millions on the table by selling at that time.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

For all we know, they're each getting thousands of more shares, in the near future, as part of their comp plan.

Keep in mind, selling shares (and working hard to make the stock price grow), is essentially part of their pay plan. They probably have relatively low salaries, and the Apple board expects them to sell stock in order to make their overall salary package competitive with similarly-paid positions in the industry.

Exactly. Some will remember that Jobs took a salary of $1 a year. That doesn't mean he just got $1 and nothing else. He got piles of stock options. He was able to then sell that stock for millions when the company became very successful. It's all part of the way executives are compensated.
[doublepost=1494344706][/doublepost]

Yes, people made that claim about Tim Cook last year when he sold, but as it turned out he left millions on the table by selling at that time.

Tim cashed out like 10% of what he holds in Apple. If he were worried, he would have cashed it all out rather than lost 90% of his Apple shares had he believed things were headed downhill.

It seems most don't understand executive compensation, the stock market, or money in general. Instead they start assuming every move made is a sign of impending doom.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Great for them.

 

[Carnegie]

Of course, all Apple insiders are all bounded by Rule 10b5. Ahrendt made $28M last year and was the highest paid executive at Apple. I'm just wondering what the rush is?

Her compensation was substantially the same as that of all of Apple's other senior vice presidents. There are small-ish variations between them based on, e.g., how much is contributed by Apple to their respective 401(k)s. In Ms. Ahrendts case, her total compensation was a little higher because she was still owed some moving expenses as part of the arrangement made when she joined Apple.

 

[69Mustang]

Of course, all Apple insiders are all bounded by Rule 10b5. Ahrendt made $28M last year and was the highest paid executive at Apple. I'm just wondering what the rush is?

What rush are you referencing? Doesn't it seem more likely that she (all of them actually) has a predetermined sell schedule?
Also not sure where you got that $28M. For 2016 Ahrendts was paid $22.9M. 87% of that ($20M) was stock. $2.9M was cash. Source

 

[RightMACatU]

Backyard shed in need of a reno?
Good for them.

 

[dmunz]

What rush are you referencing? Doesn't it seem more likely that she (all of them actually) has a predetermined sell schedule?
Also not sure where you got that $28M. For 2016 Ahrendts was paid $22.9M. 87% of that ($20M) was stock. $2.9M was cash. Source

Interesting chart in that Jony is not on the list. Has to chap that the lawyer, finance and marketing get paid more than the guy who makes stuff great.

FWIW
DLM

 

[Mr. Skeleton]

WWDC is just a software even, they aren't announcing sales (besides "we're so much better than Android, you are on the right path writing Apps for iOS"), they aren't probably announcing new products, and certainly they aren't announcing new important products (new or updates). WWDC doesn't matter for Wall Street.
[doublepost=1494344016][/doublepost]

Responsible for them to sell their shares right now, were the outlook is positive.

I wouldn't discount the possibility of a product announcement at WWDC just because recent onces didn't. It's a special year

 

[69Mustang]

Interesting chart in that Jony is not on the list. Has to chap that the lawyer, finance and marketing get paid more than the guy who makes stuff great.

FWIW
DLM

Afaik, Ive's salary is a closely held secret. He's not on that list for two reasons. 1. the SEC only requires the info on 5 execs minimum. 2. He is not classified as an officer or director in the company; title notwithstanding. Source

 

[Carnegie]

Interesting chart in that Jony is not on the list. Has to chap that the lawyer, finance and marketing get paid more than the guy who makes stuff great.

FWIW
DLM

Mr. Ive isn't considered an executive officer, so we don't know what his compensation has been. A company such as Apple has to report the compensation for its named executive officers, which are its CEO, its CFO, and the 3 highest paid of its other executive officers. Since Mr. Ive is not considered an executive officer (e.g., he isn't a senior vice president like the others, save Mr. Williams), his compensation doesn't have to be reported. It could be $10 million a year or it could be $100 million a year.

 

[PlayUltimate]

Stock price goes up on rumor. Falls on news.

Very strategic move to sell 3 weeks prior to WWDC - regardless if they had to inform of the sale months in advance.

I'd wager something significant will be announced in WWDC.

AAPL has historically gone down after earnings, sometimes significantly. I more surprised that the sale took place after earnings rather than before.

 

[Carnegie]

Generally the executive compensation includes the option to buy shares X number of shares at a set price. If the price of shares goes above that set price, these executives can buy those shares at a gain. Though they can buy them at a gain, they also must hold them for a set period of time, generally 3-5 years, at which point they can then sell them. They must announce this intended sale to the SEC months ahead of time, which prevents them from selling right before bad news is announced.

This is all part of executive compensation. It gives them an incentive to push for better company performance which they're then rewarded for.

Selling isn't an indicator of anything. You must sell those shares in order to get money. The shares themselves mean little as they can't be used to buy anything, build a house, etc. Zuckerburg has cashed out plenty of shares, as has Gates, Bezos, and others. It simply means they need cash rather than letting the shares remain invested.

Apple doesn't use stock options anymore. It uses restricted stock units. The recipient gets shares when they vest without having to pay anything for them. Often a portion of them are withheld upon vesting to satisfy tax withholding requirements, or the recipient can pay withholding taxes with their own money (or sell shares to get money to pay withholding).

Also, generally speaking executives don't have to announce intended sales to the SEC months ahead of time. They just have to report them within 3 days after the sales are made. As I suggested in another post, often they do have trading plans. But those don't have to be set up a certain amount of time in advance and they aren't filed with the SEC.

 

[S14Drvr]

$10 Mil for watch bands, not bad. In all seriousness, this shows that Apple is a normal, large corporation, not a special progressive utopian organization. Their top brass get compensated with eye watering amounts of money just like the rest of the 1%. I'm not indicting the free market system as we don't have one.

why so jealous? When you shape the most respected and for front tech companies in the world you get paid. I'm sure you wouldn't mind if you were that successful. It's build on far more than watch bands...kinda shows your bitterness lol

 

[Blackstick]

Meanwhile, a Specialist makes $15 an hour. Capitalism can be disgusting.

 

[routine_analyst]

All we ever hear anymore is iPhone this and iPhone that ... and MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY.

"THE MONEY PIPELINE IS THE BEST WE HAVE EVER HAD."

 

[Carnegie]

Exactly. Some will remember that Jobs took a salary of $1 a year. That doesn't mean he just got $1 and nothing else. He got piles of stock options. He was able to then sell that stock for millions when the company became very successful. It's all part of the way executives are compensated.
[doublepost=1494344706][/doublepost]

Tim cashed out like 10% of what he holds in Apple. If he were worried, he would have cashed it all out rather than lost 90% of his Apple shares had he believed things were headed downhill.

It seems most don't understand executive compensation, the stock market, or money in general. Instead they start assuming every move made is a sign of impending doom.

If you're referring to the shares that Mr. Jobs got after he returned to Apple, he didn't sell those. He had stock options (granted in connection with him being CEO) but voluntarily canceled those and was instead given 10 million RSUs (I think it was actually 5 million, but there was a 2 for 1 split before they vested). Those vested and, after a large chunk were withheld for tax purposes, he kept what was left. He also got some shares through options related to his being a director. When he died he owned around 5-1/2 million shares which would be nearly 39 million shares today (after the 7 for 1 split).

As for Mr. Cook, he did sell some shares earlier this year - it was more than 10% of what he held, but not a whole lot more. But he had also sold a significantly larger number of shares last year, shortly after they had vested.

 

[neuropsychguy]

Meanwhile, a Specialist makes $15 an hour. Capitalism can be disgusting.

Capitalism can be disgusting. Non-skilled workers being paid $15 an hour doesn't seem very disgusting to me.

 

[pat500000]

Oh yeah..sell sell sell...im rich

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Stock price goes up on rumor. Falls on news.

Very strategic move to sell 3 weeks prior to WWDC - regardless if they had to inform of the sale months in advance.

I'd wager something significant will be announced in WWDC.

For years we've always seen prices climb before a keynote and then drop right after. Even the announcement of the world changing iPhone saw a drop after the keynote. Speculation by sites like MacRumors gets people thinking that every announcement will be world changing.

 

[Spendlove]

I think she's hot. I would.

Plus the money helps.

 

[mrxak]

In case nobody's said it yet, it's utterly insane to have all your money tied up in any one stock, even if you're absolutely certain it's going to do well. It's not only typical for executives at every company to periodically sell off a lot of the stock they've been given, but would be encouraged to do so by any competent portfolio manager. Even if these executives were certain because of inside info that Apple stock was going to double in the next year, you'd see them selling stock now to diversify their holdings and they'd be considered wise to do so. These people are already rich enough that a few million here or there won't make too much difference in their lives, but keeping all their eggs in one basket just endangers their families' futures unnecessarily. When you're that rich, the name of the game is minimizing risk.

 

[Mr. Dee]

I want Neil Patrick Harris to play Tim Cook and Celine Dion, Angela Ahrendts for the Lifetime TV movie.

 

[TallManNY]

In case nobody's said it yet, it's utterly insane to have all your money tied up in any one stock, even if you're absolutely certain it's going to do well. It's not only typical for executives at every company to periodically sell off a lot of the stock they've been given, but would be encouraged to do so by any competent portfolio manager. Even if these executives were certain because of inside info that Apple stock was going to double in the next year, you'd see them selling stock now to diversify their holdings and they'd be considered wise to do so. These people are already rich enough that a few million here or there won't make too much difference in their lives, but keeping all their eggs in one basket just endangers their families' futures unnecessarily. When you're that rich, the name of the game is minimizing risk.

Thanks. That needed to be said. And also these executives still have years of work ahead of them with tons of more Apple stock being given to them as compensation coming.