Skip to main content

Apple boss picked up $10.3M last year, though his VPs got plenty more

Apple boss Tim Cook got a $1-million+ pay raise last year.

Cook, who took the CEO role in 2011 following the death of Steve Jobs, picked up a useful $10.3 million in fiscal 2015 (ending September), up from $9.2 million a year earlier. It may not sound like a lot for the boss of a giant like Apple, but keep in mind he also has more than $500 million worth of Apple shares to his name.

Recommended Videos

Breaking it down, $2 million of Cook’s 2015 income was salary, while private security accounted for $209,000. The bulk of it was a hefty bonus payment of $8 million, a regulatory filing revealed.

Bigger annual payouts went to five of the tech company’s senior VPs, each of whom received a tasty $25 million.

Among the recipients was Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts. The former Burberry boss, who joined the company in 2014, received a $1 million base salary, a $20 million stock grant, a bonus worth $4 million, and relocation expenses of almost $475,000, Re/code said.

Apple reported record profits of $53 billion on sales of $233.7 billion in the fiscal year ending September, 2015. The filing noted that the tech titan beat performance targets for net sales and operating income, paving the way for the bumper payouts.

However, it hasn’t all been plain sailing for the iPhone maker. Despite reporting record-breaking earnings throughout last year, the company’s stock has been having something of a rough time, in 2015 experiencing its first down year since 2008.

Apple’s stock fell further this week after Nikkei reported the Cupertino company was cutting production of its latest iPhone 6S and 6S Plus handsets by as much as 30 percent in the January-to-March quarter.

Nikkei said in its report that Apple’s two smartphone models, which launched last September, have “piled up at retailers in markets ranging from China and Japan to Europe and the U.S. amid lackluster sales.”

Apple’s share value currently stands at $100.70, it’s lowest value in the last year and well down from a 12-month high of $133 reached back in February, 2015.

Team Apple will be hoping to get things back on track this year, with a slew of new products expected, among them new iPhones and possibly an iPhone 6C/7C, an overhauled Apple Watch, and an updated iPad Air.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7: the upgrade we’ve been waiting for?
Thre Flip 7 models next to each other

I never really thought that I'd want to go down the route of owning a flip phone, ever since I swore off my Nokia in the early 2000s (you know, the one with the weird felt covering and tiny notification window).

Fast forward two decades, and I'm considering rejoining the race, thanks to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7. Coming in at $1,100, it's not cheap, but it's definitely something different compared to the world of black rectangles, and it it feels like Samsung’s Flip family has finally come of age.

Read more
I used the Galaxy Z Fold 7, here’s why I’m completely smitten
The back of the Galaxy Z Fold 7

We’ve waited several years for Samsung to join the party, but it’s finally here: Samsung has followed rivals like Oppo, OnePlus, and Honor in building a thinner, lighter, and sleeker Galaxy Z Fold 7. It’s an impressive feat of engineering and a major upgrade over previous years.

It’s easy to consider the Fold 7 nothing more than an update to the Galaxy Z Fold 6, but in many ways, it feels like a huge step forward, not just for Samsung but for all folding phones. I spent a few hours with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 in an exclusive preview, and here’s why I absolutely love what Samsung has done this year.

Read more
I tried the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 series – they’re sleek, but with a lot to prove
Watch 8 on a wrist

Trying out the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic is a tough gig - not in terms of it being a hardship to try out two high-end models, but that it's impossible to assess them with only 30 minutes’ use.

I can easily talk about the improved design and the fit of the straps etc, but the real changes are within the health ecosystem, and they'll need sustained testing to really understand if they're any good.

Read more