Apple finished its latest fiscal year with a record profit of $99.8 billion. And what did CEO Tim Cook get for his efforts? The board's compensation committee slashed his target pay for 2023 to $49 million, a 40% reduction.

The company said it is making changes to Cook's compensation, with Cook's blessing, to be "responsive to shareholder feedback, while continuing both to align pay with performance and to recognize Mr. Cook's outstanding leadership."

Corporate governance experts say the move may reverberate through corporate America, causing other companies to ratchet back pay in an era where shareholders are increasingly showing their disapproval for rich pay packages by voting "no" in "say-on-pay" votes at annual meetings.