Apple CEO Tim Cook Sees $3 Million Total Pay Hike In 2018

Apple CEO Tim Cook’s total pay rose last year as the company hit multiple growth goals in fiscal 2018.

Cook reported total compensation of $15.7 million in fiscal 2018, up $2.9 million from the $12.8 million he received the prior year, according to a proxy filing Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Cook’s total pay included $3 million in base salary, which was almost unchanged from the last year. He also received $12 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation and $682,219 in other compensation. Not included as part of Cook’s total pay: Apple shares worth an estimated $121 million that vested in 2018, according to the proxy.

“Other compensation” included Apple’s contributions to Cook’s account under its 401(k) plan in the amount of $16,500; term life insurance premiums paid by Apple in the amount of $2,964; vacation cash-out in the amount of $57,692; security expenses in the amount of $310,981; and personal air travel expenses worth $294,082.

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Cook’s increase in total pay was mostly due to an increase in non-equity incentive plan compensation, which rewarded Cook and other executives because Apple’s performance exceeded the maximum performance goals for both net sales and operating income in 2018.

Apple reported record fiscal 2018 net sales of $265.6 billion, 16 percent more than in 2017. Meanwhile, operating income grew 16 percent to $70.9 billion while the company’s stock price rose 47 percent during the fiscal year.

Cook did not receive an equity award in 2018 and has not received an equity award since 2011, the company noted in the SEC filing.

Cook, 58, was not the most highest compensated executive at the Cupertino, Calif., tech giant. Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri reported total compensation of $26.5 million in 2018; Kate Adams, senior vice president and general counsel and secretary, reported compensation of $26.7 million; and Angela Ahrendts, senior vice president of retail, reported $26.5 million in total pay in 2018; and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams reported $26.5 million in total pay last year.

But challenges lay ahead for Apple. Cook last week said in a letter to shareholders that "lower than anticipated iPhone revenue" has led the company to slash its guidance for its fiscal first quarter of 2019, which ended Dec. 29. Cook blamed the soft iPhone revenue on lower-than-expected demand in China and other emerging markets, as well as in "some developed markets." Apple cut its revenue guidance for its fiscal first quarter of 2019 to $84 billion, down from guidance of between $89 billion and $93 billion previously.

Apple, whose market cap hit $1 trillion last August, has since been dethroned by Amazon as the most valuable public company. Apple’s stock closed up 1.9 percent to $150.75 on Tuesday with a total market cap of $715 billion.