Tim Cook sells $50M worth of AAPL shares, but the timing is coincidental

Apple CEO Tim Cook has sold AAPL shares worth more than $50M at a time when the stock is close to an all-time high – but the timing is coincidental.

The stock value broke $200 per share back in June, hitting a record $236 in July. There’s been a little up-and-down since then, with Cook selling his shares at an average value of $227 …

The sale was revealed in a mandatory Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.

• Number of Shares or Other Units To Be Sold: 223,986
• Aggregate Market Value: $50,276,076.70
• Approximate Date of Sale: 2nd October 2024

However, while that might look like Cook was taking advantage of the current value of the stock, insider trading rules mean that senior execs with access to market-moving information are required to set up plans to schedule all stock sales well in advance.

In the case of this sale, the SEC filing shows that the instruction to sell was issued on 21st May 2024, when the stock value was $192. The sale represents less than 10% of his AAPL holdings at the time

Cook receives the majority of his compensation in the form of stock awards tied to the value of the company compared to other S&P 500 businesses. Last year, for example, his base salary was $3M while his performance-related pay was $66.2M.

Times of India notes this sale means that his total compensation for 2024 is a little over $70M.

Photo by Jakub Żerdzicki on Unsplash with Photoshop AI expansion