Tim Cook sells $63.8 million of Apple stock after a 374,541-share award vests

Tim Cook sold 191,753 Apple shares on October 2 for about $63.8 million, according to a Form 4 filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on October 5. The sale came one day after a performance-based stock award granted in 2023 vested, the first since Cook handed the CEO role to John Ternus on September 1 and became Apple's executive chairman. Investing.com and 9to5Mac reported the filing earlier.

What the filing shows

• October 1 vest: 374,541 restricted stock units settled into Apple common shares.
• Tax withholding: Apple kept 199,038 of those shares, valued at $330.32 each or about $65.7 million, to cover taxes on the vest. Those shares were not sold on the open market.
• October 2 sales: Cook's trust sold 191,753 shares in four batches at weighted average prices of $331.44 to $333.94. Individual trades ranged from $330.66 to $334.50, for a total of about $63.8 million, or roughly $332.96 a share.
• Gift: Cook also gave away 26,325 shares the same day. The filing doesn't name the recipient.
• What's left: 3,237,843 shares held through his trust, worth about $1.08 billion at the October 2 sale prices.

The sales were made under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan Cook adopted on May 28, 2026. These plans fix the terms of future sales ahead of time, so the timing follows the vesting calendar rather than a decision made that week. Taken together, 417,116 shares went out through withholding, the sale, and the gift against 374,541 that came in, leaving Cook with 42,575 fewer shares than the 3,280,418 he held before the vest.

Why the award paid out at 171 percent of target

The award was granted on October 1, 2023, with a target of 219,030 units. How much of it vested depended on Apple's total shareholder return compared with the rest of the S&P 500 from the start of fiscal 2024 to the end of fiscal 2026.

Apple's return over that stretch was 90.67 percent, measured from a starting value of $175.08 to an ending value of $333.82, each based on a 20-trading-day average close. That ranked 115th of 480 companies, or the 76.20th percentile. The award paid 100 percent of target at the 55th percentile and 200 percent at the 85th, with straight-line steps in between, which worked out to 374,541 units, about 171 percent of target.

A familiar October pattern

Cook's equity awards vest on October 1, and he has sold shortly after. A year ago, while still CEO, 277,206 units vested on October 1, 2025. Apple withheld 147,243 shares and Cook sold 129,963 the next day for about $33.4 million under an earlier trading plan, according to that year's Form 4. This year's sale is larger because more units vested and the shares were worth nearly 30 percent more at vesting.

Cook is still being paid in stock as executive chairman. A separate Form 4 filed September 29 shows Apple granted him 65,969 time-based units and a target of 65,969 performance-based units on September 27. The time-based units vest in installments from April 15, 2027, through October 15, 2030. The performance units vest on October 1, 2029, with anywhere from zero to twice the target depending on Apple's relative shareholder return over fiscal 2027 through 2029.

The next big read on that return comes on November 2, when Apple reports fiscal fourth-quarter results on Ternus's first earnings call as CEO.

Sources

• SEC EDGAR, Form 4 for Timothy D. Cook, filed October 5, 2026
• SEC EDGAR, Form 4 for Timothy D. Cook, filed September 29, 2026
• SEC EDGAR, Form 4 for Timothy D. Cook, filed October 3, 2025
• Investing.com, "Apple's Timothy Cook, executive chair, sells $63.8 million in stock"
• 9to5Mac, Marcus Mendes, "Tim Cook sold nearly $63.9 million in Apple shares this month," October 6, 2026
• Apple Newsroom, CEO transition announcement, April 20, 2026