Apple CEO John Ternus started Tuesday. His $55 million award starts next year

Another day, another dollar.

But for John Ternus, who started Tuesday as Apple’s CEO , the amounts come with a lot more zeroes after them.

The Apple board handed the newly minted CEO of the $4.75 trillion iPhone maker a massive new compensation package to kickstart his tenure, with more to come if Apple’s pay history is any guide.

Apple gave Ternus a salary bump to $3 million and granted him restricted stock units valued at $2.5 million, prorated for the few weeks he’ll serve as CEO before the end of Apple’s 2026 fiscal year.

The board separately approved an annual equity award for fiscal 2027 with a target value of $55 million.

Three quarters of the equity award will vest based on Apple’s total shareholder return relative to other S&P 500 companies.

The rest will vest on a clock, 12.5% every six months over four years.

Tim Cook, who after 15 years as CEO is sticking around as executive chair while Ternus finds his footing, saw his salary decrease from $3 million to $2 million, effective later this month.

The Apple board approved a $45 million target equity award for him, half in RSUs that vest over four years, and half that vest based on performance.

No word yet on an annual cash bonus for Ternus.

Cook collected a $12 million bonus each of the past two fiscal years, according to Apple’s securities filings.

The Cook Precedent It was an entirely different picture the last time Apple had a CEO change, when Cook succeeded the late Steve Jobs in 2011.

Back then, Apple gave Cook 1 million RSUs with a grant date value of $376.2 million on top of a $900,000 salary that the board bumped to $1.4 million a few months after he took over the top spot.

Half of the award vested five years after the award date, and the other half vested 10 years after the award date.