Apple's 2026 annual shareholder meeting on February 24: Read CEO Tim Cook's 'invite letter'

Apple will hold its 2026 annual shareholders meeting on February 24 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time, the company announced in an SEC filing Thursday. Shareholders on record as of January 2 can join virtually to vote on key company matters. CEO Tim Cook sent a letter to shareholders highlighting 2025's achievements, including the iPhone 17 lineup and AirPods Pro 3, while shareholders on record as of January 2 can join virtually to vote on key company matters.The agenda includes re-electing Apple's board of directors, approving executive compensation totaling about $74 million for CEO Tim Cook, and ratifying Ernst & Young as the company's accounting firm. Shareholders will also vote on several proposals, including one from a conservative think tank requesting an audit of Apple's manufacturing ties to China.In an unusual move, Apple is waiving its longstanding guideline that directors step down at age 75. Both board chairman Art Levinson, 75, and audit committee chair Ron Sugar, 77, are up for re-election. The company justified this decision by pointing to their experience and the need for "continuity among the Board's leadership positions."The waiver has sparked speculation about Apple's succession planning. With ongoing chatter about Tim Cook's eventual retirement, keeping Levinson as chairman could provide stability during a future leadership transition, particularly if Cook moves into the chairman role himself.Apple's board recommends voting against the China audit proposal, calling it "unnecessary" and "highly prescriptive."To our shareholders,This has been an exceptional year at Apple. We are so excited about all the ways we are sharing our products, pushing the limits of what’s possible, and making technology that empowers people and enriches their lives.This is an ideal moment to reflect on where we are today, and in that spirit, I’d invite you to join us for the 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders on February 24, 2026, where we’ll celebrate all we’ve accomplished over the past year.Our latest iPhone lineup features the most powerful iPhone we’ve ever made with iPhone 17 Pro, and the thinnest iPhone we’ve ever made with iPhone Air. Along with iPhone 17, our entire lineup features incredibly advanced camera systems, powerful performance, and all-day battery life our users love.Our technology has never done more to help our users stay productive, connected, and healthy. With the M5-powered iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, and Vision Pro, and across our product lineups, Apple silicon continues to deliver unmatched power and performance to help our users get more done. This year, we also introduced a beautiful new design called Liquid Glass, which creates a unified experience across our platforms for the very first time. And I hear from Apple users every day who credit our health and safety features with improving their lives, or even saving them.AirPods Pro 3 have been another huge hit, delivering remarkable sound quality and the world’s best in-ear active noise cancellation. And with Live Translation powered by Apple Intelligence, AirPods unlock a whole new way to connect and communicate with people across languages and around the world.It’s a powerful example of the incredible possibilities we’re unlocking with AI, which we see as one of the most profound technologies of our lifetime. That’s why, from the silicon to the software, we’re building our products from the ground up to enable powerful AI experiences. With Apple Intelligence, we’re delivering on a hallmark of Apple products by making complex technologies easy and accessible for our customers. And we now have dozens of Apple Intelligence features—like Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence—that are empowering our users in remarkable ways.We’ve also continued to deliver world-class Services—including Apple Music, Apple Pay, and the App Store—that give our users even more ways to learn, create, and connect. For instance, Apple TV originals continue to earn praise from fans and critics alike—including clever comedies like “The Studio,” riveting dramas like “Severance” and “Pluribus,” and thrilling, cinematic hits like “F1.”As always, we’ve continued to build our values into everything we do—from our commitment to protecting people’s privacy and security, to designing our products to be accessible to all. Around the world, we’re giving students and teachers the tools to learn new skills and harness their creativity.And we’re continuously inspired by the imaginative ways people are using our technology to build new businesses, create beautiful art, and serve their communities.On behalf of everyone at Apple, thank you for your engagement, your confidence, and your belief in our mission. We’ve accomplished so much together—and I’ve never been more optimistic about the future.