Apple CEO John Ternus Executes 10b5-1 Stock Sale Following Performance RSU Vesting

Executive Summary

Apple Inc. ($AAPL$) Chief Executive Officer and Director John Ternus filed a Form 4 detailing equity transactions occurring on October 1 and October 2, 2026. The transactions consisted of the vesting and settlement of 99,878 performance-based Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), mandatory tax withholding dispositions, and pre-scheduled open-market sales under a Rule 10b5-1 plan.

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Detailed Transaction Breakdown

1. Performance RSU Settlement (October 1, 2026):

   • Shares Acquired: 99,878 shares of common stock upon vesting of performance units granted October 1, 2023.
   • Performance Conditions: Payout was determined based on Apple's 3-year Total Shareholder Return (TSR) relative to S&P 500 companies. Apple achieved a 90.67% TSR (ranked 115th of 480 peers, 76.2 percentile), yielding 99,878 shares against a target of 58,408 RSUs (~171% of target).

2. Tax Withholding (Code F - October 1, 2026):

   • Shares Withheld: 49,054 shares were withheld by Apple to satisfy statutory tax obligations at an official valuation of $330.32 per share, totaling approximately $16.20 million.

3. Open Market Sales (Code S - October 2, 2026):

   • A total of 25,412 shares were sold across four tranches under a pre-established Rule 10b5-1 plan:
     • 3,564 shares at a weighted-average price of $331.38 ($1.18M)
     • 5,348 shares at a weighted-average price of $332.26 ($1.78M)
     • 12,746 shares at a weighted-average price of $333.34 ($4.25M)
     • 3,754 shares at a weighted-average price of $334.05 ($1.25M)
   • Total Sale Proceeds: $8,460,740.14 at an aggregate weighted-average price of $332.94 per share.

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Ownership Impact & Market Significance

• Post-Transaction Holdings: Mr. Ternus holds 59,567 shares beneficially through his trust following these transactions.
• Significance Level: Medium. While the gross sale volume is notable (~$8.46M), the sales were carried out pursuant to a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on May 21, 2026, and immediately followed a major scheduled vesting event. Such liquidity events are standard equity management and tax-planning practices for senior corporate officers.