These Are Apple's Top 5 Highest-Paid Executives

CEO Tim Cook and three other top Apple executives saw a pay decrease during the company’s latest fiscal year, as iPhone sales plunged.

Getting Paid

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Apple CEO Tim Cook saw his pay package decrease by $4 million during the company's fiscal year 2019, ended Sept. 28, amid sagging sales of the company's most important product, the iPhone. But Cook wasn't alone: Three other current Apple executives listed in the company's annual proxy statement received reduced compensation in fiscal 2019, Apple disclosed Friday. Base salaries remained at the same levels for the executives, and stock awards continued to be the largest source of executive pay at the company in fiscal 2019 by far, according to the regulatory filing.

During the year, Apple enjoyed an expanded market capitalization but was hamstrung by declining iPhone sales during all four quarters. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company saw an improvement in iPhone sales during its fiscal fourth quarter, although the sales were still down 9.2 percent from the same quarter a year earlier.

What follows are the details on what the top five highest-paid Apple executives received in total compensation during the company's fiscal 2019.

Kate Adams

Apple's general counsel, Kate Adams, was the highest-paid executive listed in Apple's proxy statement with a total pay package of $25.231 million for fiscal year 2019. Adams, who also holds the title of senior vice president at Apple, had received $26.7 million in total compensation during the previous fiscal year. The pay package for Adams included $21.6 million in stock awards in fiscal 2019, along with a $1 million base salary and $2.6 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation, according to the proxy filing.

Luca Maestri

The second highest-paid executive at Apple during the company's fiscal 2019 was CFO Luca Maestri, whose total compensation came in at $25.209 million. That was down 5 percent from fiscal 2018, when Maestri's pay package reached $26.5 million, according to Apple's proxy statement. For fiscal 2019, Maestri received stock awards valued at $21.6 million with a $1 million base salary and non-equity incentive plan compensation of $2.6 million.

Jeff Williams

Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams ranked third among the company's highest-paid executives during Apple's latest fiscal year, with a pay package totaling $25.207 million. That compensation level represented a 5 percent drop from Apple's fiscal 2018, when he earned a total of $26.5 million. The proxy statement shows that Williams received $21.6 million worth of stock awards, a $1 million base salary and $2.5 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation.

Deirdre O'Brien

Following the departure of Angela Ahrendts as senior vice president of retail at Apple, Deirdre O'Brien was promoted to senior vice president for retail and people in February 2019. O'Brien received a total pay package of $19.2 million in Apple's fiscal 2019, including stock awards of $16.5 million, a base salary of $877,500 and non-equity incentive plan compensation $1.8 million. As a result of being new to the list of top Apple executives, the company did not disclose O'Brien's compensation details for previous years.

Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook saw his pay drop by the largest amount of any of the executives listed in Apple's proxy statement. Cook's total pay package for fiscal 2019 was $11.6 million, down 26 percent from $15.7 million during the previous fiscal year. Cook did have the largest base salary among the listed executives, at $3 million, as well as the highest amount of non-equity incentive plan compensation, at $7.6 million. But as in previous years, Cook did not receive stock awards in fiscal 2019. Cook's last equity award came when he was named Apple CEO in 2011; the market value of shares that have not vested from that award was $275.7 million as of Sept. 28, according to the proxy statement.