Apple has awarded Tim Cook a pay deal approaching that of his successor John Ternus, signalling that the departing chief executive will continue to play a big role in his new position as executive chairman.

Cook’s pay package in his new function included $47 million (€40.5 million) in salary and stock, Apple said in a filing as he assumed the role on Tuesday.

Ternus’s base salary had meanwhile been increased to $3 million with a target annual equity award of $55 million in the company’s 2027 fiscal year if performance criteria were met, the company said.

Cook’s annual salary has been set at $2 million, with $45 million in planned equity. It would mark a 20 per cent cut to his pay and stock award compared with 2025, although Tuesday’s disclosure did not cover bonuses and other items that will be disclosed later.

The handover from Cook to Ternus on Tuesday marks only the second change in chief executive for Apple this century.

During his 15-year tenure, Cook has forged a close relationship with Washington and Beijing and become a globally recognisable figure, helping the $4.75 trillion tech giant navigate the balancing act between being both one of the US’s biggest companies and heavily reliant on manufacturing in China.

John Ternus faces bulging in-tray as he takes over Apple

The “executive chair” role was created for Cook, with long-time nonexecutive board chair Arthur Levinson becoming lead independent director on Tuesday. Levinson was paid just $557,231 for the 2025 fiscal year.

Apple has previously said Cook would “assist with certain aspects of the company, including engaging with policymakers around the world”.

Wall Street analysts took the announcement as confirming that Cook would continue to act more like an executive than an arm’s-length board member. His large pay deal provides another indication of the scale of the new job.

Ternus, a 25-year Apple veteran and hardware engineer, marked his first day on Tuesday with a note to employees thanking Cook and expressing gratitude that he would stay on as executive chairman.

“I’m honoured to be stepping into this role at what is truly the greatest company in the world, and I am so excited about everything we have in store,” Ternus said in a message.

His first big public outing as chief executive will be next Wednesday at Apple’s annual iPhone launch event in Cupertino, where the company is expected to unveil a new foldable smartphone.

In his message to staff, Ternus teased a “huge” and “phenomenal” launch next week, adding that he was excited about “the incredible products already in the works and the ones we haven’t even imagined yet”.

The pay deal is at the upper end of compensation for an executive chairman of a major US company. Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman was awarded $27 million in 2024 when he handed over to his successor, Ted Pick, who got $34 million. Mastercard’s chief executive Ajay Banga took a similar 37 per cent pay cut to $17 million when he stepped down at the end of 2020.

Apple’s shares closed up about 2.5 per cent on Tuesday. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026