Samsung plans $72B shareholder return as SK Hynix launches record buyback

Samsung Electronics is preparing to announce a shareholder return plan worth more than 100 trillion won ($72 billion), according to a report by South Korean financial news site MoneyToday on Thursday, as the world's two largest memory chipmakers move to return record amounts of cash to investors after a sharp selloff in their shares.bloomberg+1

The plan, expected to be finalized after a board meeting later in August, would commit 50% of Samsung's free cash flow to shareholder returns focused mainly on cash dividends. Samsung declined to comment on the report, pointing instead to remarks by Chief Financial Officer Park Sooncheol during the company's July earnings call: "We will soon share a plan to find the optimal balance between maximizing shareholder value and reinvestment for future growth."finance.yahoo+1

SK Hynix Sets the Pace

Samsung's reported plan follows SK Hynix's ↘ 5.12% announcement on Wednesday of a 40 trillion won ($28.6 billion) share buyback and cancellation — the largest treasury share cancellation ever by a South Korean listed company. The chipmaker's board approved the repurchase of up to 24 million shares, representing 3.3% of shares outstanding, to be completed between August 20 and November 19.investing+1

SK Hynix also raised its shareholder return commitment to more than 50% of cumulative free cash flow from 2025 to 2027, up from a previous ceiling of 50%, and said additional measures including a special dividend would be announced alongside third-quarter results. The company said its intrinsic value "is not fully reflected in its current stock price."kfgo+1

"A commitment to its own shares on this scale over the next three months indicates SK Hynix does not think memory pricing is about to roll over," said Josh Gilbert, analyst at trading platform eToro.kfgo

Market Rebound After Selloff

The announcements triggered a sharp rally on Thursday, with Samsung shares gaining as much as 10.3% and SK Hynix rising 14.7%. The Kospi surged nearly 6%, recovering from a 5.8% plunge the previous session that was driven by a spike in U.S. Treasury yields and concerns over the durability of AI infrastructure spending.finance.yahoo+1

The moves come after weeks of turbulence for South Korean chip stocks. SK Hynix shares had fallen roughly 50% from their June record highs, while the broader Kospi experienced its worst monthly decline since the global financial crisis in July. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell nearly 5% earlier in the week as the U.S. 30-year Treasury yield topped 5.33%, its highest since 2007.ibtimes+2

Both chipmakers ended the first half of 2026 with record profits driven by surging demand for high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI data centers. SK Hynix held approximately 69 trillion won in net cash at the end of the second quarter. U.S. rival Micron Technology ↘ 7.00% has separately pledged to return 100% of its excess cash to shareholders.investing+1