Apple CEO Tim Cook is about to receive a $740 million award

Apple CEO Tim Cook is about to receive the tenth and last payout from a contract he signed with Apple 10 years ago when he took over the CEO position from the late Steve Jobs. Back in January 2009, Jobs temporarily gave up the CEO position at the company that he co-founded. Looking way too thin amid rumors that he was suffering from a serious illness, Jobs told employees that he would return in June and named Tim Cook to replace him until he could return.

After he returned to Apple, Jobs stepped down for good as CEO in August 2011. In a letter to the Board of Directors and the Apple community, Jobs wrote "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come." Once again, Tim Cook was named to replace Jobs, this time on a permanent basis, and this was a choice that worked out better for Apple than anyone could have hoped.

Bloomberg notes that this week, Cook will receive an award consisting of five million shares of Apple stock worth a little shy of $740 million based on the current stock price. For Cook to receive such a large payout, Apple's stock return over the last three years had to beat out the returns generated by at least two-thirds of the shares that make up the S&P 500. This metric was handily topped by Apple allowing Cook to receive the maximum payout offered by his contract.

Less than two months after leaving Apple for good, Steve Jobs succumbed to pancreatic cancer. At first, Apple executives played the ole "What would Steve do?" game. But over the years Cook has introduced things that go against previous comments made by his predecessor. That includes increasing the size of the iPhone's display to as large as 6.7-inches, and offering the Apple Pencil (a glorified stylus) for certain iPad models.

Recently, an email that Jobs wrote back in October 2010 was discovered revealing that Apple's then-CEO was still interested in producing small-screened iPhone models. Jobs had written in this email about his interest in creating an iPhone nano. He also mentioned an iPhone 4 Plus with a better antenna, processor, and camera. In 2014, Apple launched its first Plus variant, the iPhone 6 Plus which was equipped with a larger display.

Since Cook has become Apple's CEO for good, the company's shares are up 1,100% making the firm the first U.S. publicly traded outfit to have a valuation of over one trillion dollars. That took place in August 2018. A little over two years later, Apple became the first to hit the two trillion valuation club.

Not every new device unveiled by Apple during the Tim Cook era has been a success. Some devices, like AirPower, never arrived at all. The HomePods smart speaker has failed to pick up any traction although the "mini" version is doing better than the OG. But it should be pointed out that even Steve Jobs had his Newton failure.

Under Cook, Apple has introduced the Apple Watch and the AirPods, two category-leading creations from Apple. We could see two different headsets over the next few years including Apple's response to Google Glass and a mixed reality headset. Cook also pumped up Apple's Services offerings in order to profit from the nearly 1 billion active iPhone units. We've seen the tech giant launch Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+ and other titles that require a recurring monthly subscription, and last year Apple introduced the MagSafe line of magnetic accessories for the iPhone.

The future remains bright for Apple and there are no signs that Cook plans to step down anytime soon. In fact, back in March 2019, he said that Apple's new products will "blow you away."