Apple Inc. filed an amended current report (Form 8-K/A, Amendment No. 1) on September 1, 2026, disclosing the compensation arrangements for John Ternus as incoming Chief Executive Officer and Tim Cook as incoming Executive Chair of the Board, both effective September 1, 2026.

Key Highlights

  • Ternus annual salary: Increased to $3 million effective September 1, 2026, per the filing.
  • Ternus prorated RSU award: A prorated restricted stock unit award with a target value of $2.5 million was granted for his period of service as CEO in fiscal 2026.
  • Ternus fiscal 2027 equity: An annual equity award with a target value of $55 million approved for fiscal 2027, split 75% performance-based RSUs and 25% time-based RSUs.
  • Cook annual salary: Set at $2 million, effective September 26, 2026, according to the filing.
  • Cook fiscal 2027 equity: An equity award with a target value of $45 million approved for fiscal 2027, split evenly at 50% performance-based RSUs and 50% time-based RSUs.
  • Performance metric: Performance-based RSUs for both executives vest based on Apple's total shareholder return relative to other companies in the S&P 500.

Apple's Leadership Transition Compensation Terms for Ternus and Cook

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) filed this amendment to supplement its original Form 8-K filed on April 20, 2026, which had announced the CEO transition plan. The amendment's sole purpose, as stated in the filing, is to disclose the new compensation arrangements for John Ternus and Tim Cook in their respective new roles, with the Transition Date defined as September 1, 2026. All other information in the original filing, according to the document, remains unchanged.

For John Ternus, the People and Compensation Committee of the Board granted a prorated RSU award with a target value of $2.5 million on the Transition Date for his service as CEO in fiscal 2026. His fiscal 2027 annual equity award, with a target value of $55 million, will be 75% performance-based RSUs vesting against Apple's total shareholder return relative to S&P 500 companies, and 25% time-based RSUs vesting semiannually in equal installments of 12.5% over four years.

For Tim Cook, the filing states his annual salary will be $2 million effective September 26, 2026. His fiscal 2027 equity award carries a target value of $45 million, divided equally between performance-based RSUs (same S&P 500 relative total shareholder return metric) and time-based RSUs with the same 12.5% semiannual vesting schedule over four years. The filing also discloses that if Cook's employment is terminated due to retirement on or after the first anniversary of the grant date, his equity award will vest, subject to performance conditions for the performance-based RSUs, but will continue to settle on the originally scheduled vesting dates.

What Was Disclosed

This amended filing disclosed the specific salary levels and equity award terms for John Ternus as CEO and Tim Cook as Executive Chair, both tied to an effective Transition Date of September 1, 2026, as approved by the People and Compensation Committee.