A U.S. securities filing revealed that Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook made $41.5 million after taxes in his biggest share sale in two years.
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The iPhone maker’s CEO sold off 511,000 shares, which costed approximately $87.8 million prior to accounting for taxes, as per the filing dated on Tuesday. In August 2021, he earned $355 million from a stock sale.
The Apple chief owns about 3.3 million shares, valued at about $565 million, following the sale, the filing showed.
The company’s shares have depreciated by 13 per cent from their record high of $198.23 in July as opposed to investors who were worried about a comparatively slower recovery in smartphone market demand.
The iPhone making company launched its new iPhone 15 model last month, without putting it at expected higher prices, a move that some industry analysts said was in response to a global demand decline of smartphones .
Shares of the Cupertino, a California-based company had plummeted by 0.6 per cent in trading before the bell.
On Wednesday, industry watchers at Key Banc depleted the stock to “sector-weight” from “overweight” on worries that sales growth in the United States – Apple’s biggest geographical segment – was likely to get slower in the fourth quarter again.
Image Credits: Joanna Stern
The brokerage noted that fewer phone users in the United States were likely to upgrade their devices as they grappled with high inflation.
In 2021, the report from research firm Canalys showed North American smartphone shipments were expected to decline by 12 per cent.
As per a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, the Apple CEO sold 511,000 shares. He still has about 3.28 million shares in the Cupertino, which is a company based in California where he has worked for more than two decades, according to data collected by Bloomberg.
For 2023, the share sale comes soon after the Apple CEO took a rare pay snip of approximately 40 per cent to $49 million. As part of the changes to his compensation, his stock awards tied to Apple’s performance will hike to 75 per cent this year from 50 per cent earlier.
Image Credits: Joanna Stern
Other executives from the company also revealed stock sales, comprising Senior Vice Presidents Deirdre O’Brien and Katherine Adams, who sold $11.3 million in shares each.
The CEO’s last huge stock sale was in August 2021, when he sold more than $750 million in Apple stock after completing a decade as the chief executive. According to a report compiled by Bloomberg media group, that post tax withholdings, he got about $355 million.
Apple shares hit an all-time hike in July and have since plummeted more than 12 per cent in the middle of a wider tech selloff. On Tuesday, KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. declined the stock citing a weaker sales growth outlook. On Wednesday, the shares were little changed.
Before the market opening, Apple’s shares declined by 0.6 per cent. On Wednesday, analysts at KeyBanc declined the stock from “overweight” to “sector-weight,” expressing concerns that sales growth in the United States, Apple’s largest market segment, was likely to slump in the fourth quarter. This was vested to fewer consumers in the United States elevating their devices in the middle of high inflation rumours.
A report from research firm Canalys reveals a 12 per cent decrease in North American smartphone shipments for the year 2023, which goes on to highlight the challenges faced by the entire smartphone industry across the US.
