Apple CEO Tim Cook may step down from his role as early as next year, forcing the smartphone giant to step up its succession planning efforts, according to a new report by the Financial Times.

People familiar with inside developments told the newspaper that Apple’s board and senior executives had recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over his baton after serving as the CEO for more than 14 years.

He joined the company at Steve Jobs’ request after leaving his job at Compaq, and helped it out of financial distress by improving its supply chain and manufacturing processes thereby reducing costs.

Tim Cook took over as Apple CEO in 2011 after Silicon Valley legend Steve Jobs resigned from the post.

Since then, Cook has carried forward his legacy to make Apple one of the largest companies globally.

Placing Apple into a pedestal while being the CEO comes with its own perks and Cook is no exception. Even as he steps down as CEO, the leader is likely to hold his stocks at Apple and stay on as a board member of the company, ensuring benefits in the near future.

How much Apple stocks does Tim Cook hold?

According to a report by The Street, Tim Cook holds about 3,280,052 shares, or 0.021% of Apple.

Apart from this, he is a board member at Apple.

The only individual insider who owns more Apple stocks than Cook is Arthur Levinson, who held about 4.5 million shares as of 2025.

Tim Cook’s net worth and salary

Tim Cook boasts of a net worth of $.2.5 billion, making him one of the 3,300 billionaires in the world — although he is way behind top rankers such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

The reason why Cook’s net worth despite being the CEO of Apple is lower than Musk or Mark Zuckerberg is because he does not essentially own the company and is one of the shareholders.

Apart from stocks, Tim Cook’s net worth also comes from his salary.

Tim Cook’s total salary at Apple was $74.6 million in 2024.

His pay in 2024comprised of a base salary of $3 million, stock awards worth $58.1 million, and additional compensation of around $13.5 million.

Who will succeed Tim Cook at Apple?

John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, is widely seen as Cook’s most likely successor, the FT reported, citing several people familiar with discussions.

Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, which covers the critical holiday period, the newspaper said.