Apple shareholders urged to oppose Tim Cook's $99m pay package
Payout 'lacks performance criteria' according to a top investors’ advisory group
The Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), a powerful shareholder advisory group, has recommended that Apple investors vote against the $99 million (£73 million) pay and bonuses package awarded to CEO Tim Cook last year.
Cook got $99 million in salary and perks last year, according to the BBC, a substantial increase from the $14.7 million (£10.8 million) he received in 2020.
Cook earned $3 million in salary and $82.3 million in stock awards.
His package also included $12 million in cash incentives, as well as $1.4 million for insurance premiums, retirement plan contributions, air travel and other expenses.
In a letter to shareholders, the ISS expressed concerns over the design and magnitude of the equity award given to Cook in 2021.
According to the ISS, half of Cook's 2021 award is time-based and "lacks performance criteria" such as increases in Apple's share price. It adds that the cost of such bonuses significantly exceeded comparable companies last year.
Cook was paid 1,447 times more than the wage of an average Apple employee, according to a filing disclosed last month.
Apple is due to conduct its annual shareholder meeting in the first week of March. As per the rules, shareholder votes are purely advisory while Apple's board takes the final decision on pay packages.
In the past, Apple shareholders have been supportive of Cook's and other executives' remuneration.
At the company's annual meeting in 2021, 95 per cent of the shareholders voted in favour of CEO ' s remuneration package.
Cook has been a vocal critic of economic and social inequality, and has pledged to give away his riches before he dies. He contributed over £7.4 million worth of Apple shares to charity last year, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.
In Apple ' s annual proxy statement released last month, the company board stated that revenues and earnings in 2021 significantly exceeded the company ' s targets, triggering the maximum payouts under executives ' performance-based bonuses.
When making future compensation decisions, Apple's remuneration committee "will continue to consider shareholder feedback and the results of say-on-pay votes," according to the company.
Cook celebrated his tenth anniversary as Apple's CEO last year. In the past 10 years, Apple has been on a massive winning streak, hitting a number of financial achievements, including being the most profitable company in the world.
Last month, Apple became the first business to reach a stock market valuation of $3 trillion (£2.2 trillion), before falling to its current $2.8 trillion (£2.1 trillion) value.
It passed the $1 trillion threshold in August 2018 and became a $2 trillion company in August 2020.
While the $3 trillion milestone is mostly symbolic for Apple, it demonstrates investors' trust in the company and its ability to grow. During the pandemic, investors turned to Apple, thanks to its strong fundamentals, a robust balance sheet and remarkable cash flow, which it uses to invest in new products, buy back stocks, and to return capital to shareholders through dividends.
Apple has so far escaped the stock market meltdowns that have affected several other tech giants, such as Meta and Netflix.
Last month, the corporation reported all-time high sales of $123.9 billion, up 11 per cent from the previous year and greater than analysts' expectations.