Apple’s compensation committee set John Ternus’s salary as chief executive at $3 million a year, and gave Tim Cook a $2 million salary as Executive Chair, according to a Form 8-K/A the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 1, 2026. The filing is Apple’s own document, not a news release, and it is the first place these specific pay figures appear.
The 8-K/A amends an original Form 8-K that Apple filed on April 20, 2026, the same day it announced the leadership change on its newsroom. That first filing covered Item 5.02, the SEC’s category for officer and director changes, but did not include compensation terms. The September 1 amendment adds those terms, tied to the transition taking effect that day.
| Key facts | Detail |
|---|---|
| Filing | Form 8-K/A, filed September 1, 2026 |
| Item covered | Item 5.02, compensatory arrangements |
| Amends | Form 8-K filed April 20, 2026 |
| Ternus salary | $3 million annually, effective the Transition Date |
| Cook salary | $2 million annually, effective September 26, 2026 |
What the filing says about Ternus’s pay
Per the filing, Ternus’s annual salary rose to $3 million on the Transition Date, September 1, 2026. Apple’s People and Compensation Committee also granted him a prorated restricted stock unit award for his period of service as CEO during fiscal 2026, with a target value of $2.5 million, granted on the same date. Separately, the filing sets his annual equity award for fiscal 2027 at a target value of $55 million: 75 percent in performance-based restricted stock units that vest according to Apple’s total shareholder return measured against the S&P 500, and 25 percent in time-based restricted stock units vesting in semiannual installments of 12.5 percent over four years.
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What the filing says about Cook’s pay
For Cook, the filing lists an annual salary of $2 million, effective September 26, 2026, in his new role as Executive Chair. His fiscal 2027 annual equity award has a target value of $45 million, split evenly: 50 percent performance-based restricted stock units on the same total-shareholder-return metric as Ternus’s award, and 50 percent time-based restricted stock units on the same four-year, semiannual vesting schedule. The filing also describes a retirement provision: if Cook’s service ends in a qualifying retirement after the first anniversary of the award, the equity continues to vest and settles on its originally scheduled dates.
| Element | John Ternus, CEO | Tim Cook, Executive Chair |
|---|---|---|
| Annual salary | $3 million | $2 million |
| Salary effective | September 1, 2026 | September 26, 2026 |
| FY2026 prorated equity | $2.5 million target | Not stated in this filing |
| FY2027 annual equity target | $55 million | $45 million |
| Performance-based share | 75 percent | 50 percent |
| Time-based share | 25 percent | 50 percent |
Two effective dates, not one
The filing sets separate effective dates for the two salaries: Ternus’s takes hold on the Transition Date itself, September 1, 2026, while Cook’s is effective September 26, 2026, a few weeks later. Apple’s filing does not explain the gap between the two dates, and this article does not speculate about one.
A filing, not a press release
Apple’s April newsroom announcement of the leadership change, covered at the time on Apple’s own site, named the new roles but did not include dollar figures. Those figures exist only in this SEC filing. The transition took effect eleven days before this month’s iPhone 18 Pro launch, a product line built by the organization Ternus ran before his promotion, and the same week Apple shipped the iOS 27 update. Neither product cycle is mentioned in the compensation filing.
What Apple has not said
- Why Cook’s salary takes effect on September 26, 2026, rather than the September 1 Transition Date used for Ternus.
- Any target bonus or annual cash incentive figures; the filing addresses salary and equity only.
- Whether Arthur Levinson’s compensation as lead independent director changed alongside these two.
Today is Sunday, September 13, 2026, twelve days after the filing. Apple’s next scheduled SEC disclosure of note is its fourth-quarter earnings report, for which the company has not yet published a date.
