Apple's New CEO Ternus Gets $3M Salary and $55M Equity Target

Apple's new CEO John Ternus has received a $3M base salary and an equity target of $55M for fiscal 2027, according to a regulatory filing. This represents roughly 5% of his total compensation package, with the remaining amount tied to Apple's performance.

The structure of Ternus' compensation is more interesting than the headline number, as three-quarters of his award is tied to Apple's total shareholder return relative to other S&P 500 companies. The remaining quarter vests over time, with 12.5% paid every six months over four years.

This performance-linked structure was adopted by Tim Cook, who received a $376.2M stock award in 2011 with no conditions, but later asked for conditions to be added. Ternus is starting with this model, which has become the default for Apple's executive pay.