Shareholders Advisory Group Doesn't Want Tim Cook to Get $99 Million Pay Package

[MacRumors]

Apple shareholders are being urged to vote against a planned $99 million compensation package for Apple CEO Tim Cook, reports Financial Times. Shareholder advisory group Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said on Wednesday that there is a "significant concern" with the stock Cook was awarded in 2021.

Cook last year was awarded stock valued at $82 million, along with a $3 million salary and a $12 million bonus, and the stock award was the first incentive package he had been granted since his 2011 package was granted in full for his tenure at Apple.

According to ISS, Cook's 2021 compensation "significantly exceeded" that provided by comparable companies last year. It has been seven years since ISS last objected to Apple's pay packages.

Shareholder votes on the compensation that Apple provides to executives are advisory, and the board is not required to take action. Financial Times says that if there is backlash over Cook's pay, it could potentially sway Apple's board. In its proxy statement, Apple says that it will "continue to consider shareholder feedback and the results of say-on-pay votes when making future compensation decisions."

Under Cook's 10-year leadership, Apple has seen continued success and in January, briefly became the first company to hit a $3 trillion valuation. Apple executive compensation is tied to company performance, and Apple has regularly hit its targets.

Article Link: Shareholders Advisory Group Doesn't Want Tim Cook to Get $99 Million Pay Package

 

[ceo-of-apple]

absolute BS

 

[MakeAppleAwesomeAgain]

They should give him anything he wants. You can disagree with the pricing and product line-up, but he's probably the best CEO of all time.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

To be fair, the guy has said that he’s going to give most of it away to charity when he passes… Better there than sitting in some offshore account! Baha

 

[tearsofmars]

lol, $3T company vs. $99M compensation. WoW, ISS makes "SO MUCH" sense!!!

 

[turbineseaplane]

No opinion other than I wish Tim would retire

I'm ready for a new direction for the company

 

[adamjackson]

I'm all for a discussion and proposal from interested shareholders who push back on certain things. It's healthy for a publicly traded company to receive that feedback.

Personally, as a shareholder, I am not concerned at all with Mr. Cook's pay.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I'm all for a discussion and proposal from interested shareholders who push back on certain things. It's healthy for a publicly traded company to receive that feedback.

Absolutely -- This is the correct response for sure ^^

 

[WiseAJ]

No opinion other than I wish Tim would retire

I'm ready for a new direction for the company

That direction would be downward since the direction they have been going has been upward. So no, I don't want a new direction.

 

[temende]

I'm fine with it as long as shareholders get a 30% cut.

 

[temende]

They should give him anything he wants. You can disagree with the pricing and product line-up, but he's probably the best CEO of all time.

Let's be real - the greatest CEO of all time is Steve Jobs.

 

[sartorius]

Which other “comparable” CEO grew their company to $3T?

Board should give it the consideration it deserves - straight to trash.

 

[ITMacRN]

1. Start rant.
2. I am a fan of Apple.
3. I am not a fan of CEOs and their ballooning direct deposits while you and I suck coins.
4. I live in a capitalistic society. What I want in theory does not jive with reality.
5. ISS also does not live in reality and are clearly frosted over this. As far as I am concerned, ISS can kick rocks.
6. Pay Tim. What he makes has no physical or financial impact on me.
7. End rant.

 

[nylonsteel]

sounds like a very big salary but mr cook probably deserves it considering what he has done since his ascension. would like to see a raise in stock dividend though

 

[wyarp]

Only in America.

I can only assume/hope that all the other 100's of 1000's of employees Apple has, from designer, engineers, and everyone in between get decent compensation packages. If, as the article suggests, Cook's proposed package is way above that of CEO's of similar companies, then absolutely it should be looked at and discussed. Apple isn't just a personal piggy bank for the man at the top, however much money the company is worth.

 

[Bug-Creator]

Let's be real - the greatest CEO of all time is Steve Jobs.

Wait isn't that the guy that was pushed out of Apple (for good reasons)?

Or was it the guy that was 5 minutes from crashing with NeXT when he was saved by Apple (and to be fair the other way round too).

Jobs was a lot of things and yeah most of the times he was a good CEO, but GOAT is bar much higher than that.

 

[BrownyQ]

Meanwhile I'm over here dreaming of how much simpler my existence would be if I could strike it lucky and win just 1% of that.

It's the world we live in. While I don't understand or fathom that kind of money being paid to one individual, if that's what he's "earned" according to the company... let the man get paid.

 

[Realityck]

I am not seeing anything online that is a basis for this except a English lawsuit.

Apple to face class action suit over claims it misled shareholders - Imore 2/15

judge has certified the class in a lawsuit filed against Apple claiming CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri misled shareholders about the company's performance in China.

From The Telegraph:

An English council suing Apple for concealing weak iPhone demand has won a legal breakthrough after a judge approved its attempt to have the case turned into a class action.
A California judge certified Norfolk County Council's case against the tech giant as a class action after a lengthy battle over the merits of the case.
Its status potentially strengthens the council's case, and could lead to Apple having to make a larger payout if found liable.

The case was originally filed against Apple in April of 2019 by the City of Roseville Employees' Retirement System, however, the case was later consolidated to include the English county of Norfolk, which now leads the suit.

The original suit notes an Apple earnings call noting that Apple was seeing pressures from various emerging markets but "would not put China in that category", describing Apple's business as "very strong" in the country, concealing how bad the situation in the country actually was and misleading shareholders. In particular, the suit notes the poor performance of the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, the company's best iPhones at the time, stating they were too expensive for many Chinese customers and didn't offer significant upgrades over the previous model.

A subsequent profit warning issued by Apple caused its share price to fall 8%, which Norfolk County Council claims cost its pension fund $1 million.

On February 4, judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers granted in part a motion to certify a class action lawsuit in the case, meaning other shareholders can join the case and possibly inflating the potential payout should shareholders win a court victory.

 

[testcard]

Poor Tim - guess the Cupertino food bank will be seeing a lot more of him.

 

[lysingur]

Cook has had a great run. He oversaw smartphones blossoming into the most profitable line of business after Jobs' passing. He also added his own personal touch—services and wearables. However, it's time for a new guy at the helm. Apple needs new perspectives for its next chapter—VR, Apple Glasses, Apple Car.

 

[turbineseaplane]

CEO compensation is so enormously out of whack with their specific contribution.

I'm all for everyone getting paid a ton more, way down the chain though

 

[Realityck]

Additionally you have this news from 2 weeks ago.

Apple's board recommends voting against all shareholder proposals - Apple Insider 2/2

Unsurprisingly, Apple is not fond of the shareholder proposals that are on the 2022 ballot, and is recommending voting against all of them.

For example, the recommendations include a for vote for all current nominees to the Board of Directors, according to a document sent to shareholders and seen by AppleInsider. Nominees include Apple CEO Tim Cook, James Bell, Al Gore, Alex Gorky, Andrea Jung, Art Levinson, Monica Lozano, Ron Sugar, and Sue Wagner.

 

[Quu]

As a share holder I thought he did a great job last year and I don't begrudge him receiving this compensation package.

 

[I7guy]

I'm all for a discussion and proposal from interested shareholders who push back on certain things. It's healthy for a publicly traded company to receive that feedback.

Personally, as a shareholder, I am not concerned at all with Mr. Cook's pay.

Me as well. And in the end the findings will be that Tim Cook deserves every penny of what he gets.

Of course, getting the resolution approved is imo gonna be tough.

 

[KaliYoni]

ISS recommending a vote against approving senior management pay packages doesn't happen very often. So its move shows institutional holders (who, due to Apple's market capitalization and widespread presence in various benchmarks and indices, own the vast majority of AAPL) may actually be feeling some real dissatisfaction with Apple's executive compensation levels.

Personally, as an individual holder of AAPL, I think that Apple's Board of Directors needs to be completely overhauled. Most of the Directors do not bring any real business value to the table and/or have, to put it generously, mixed records in running their own companies. Apple needs a board that challenges and extends what Apple's managers propose, not one that merely acts as a rubber stamp.

In any case, shareholders who feel strongly one way or another about anything that is up for a shareholder vote should take the time to fill out their proxies. You're an owner, after all! Plus even if a specific measure does not gather enough votes for formal approval, companies sometimes still take the recommended action if a meaningful percentage of shareholders vote in favor.