After SK hynix (SKHY.US) implemented its latest large-scale stock buyback program on Wednesday, JPMorgan said the company is poised to provide shareholders with an additional at least $130 billion (about 180 trillion won) in returns before next year.

On Wednesday, South Korean storage giant SK hynix said it will buy back and cancel shares worth 40 trillion won (about $28.61 billion) and plans to use at least 50% of its cumulative free cash flow for shareholder returns by next year. The company believes the current stock price does not yet fully reflect the company’s value, and therefore decided to fully launch its shareholder return program.

SK hynix said the share buyback will begin on August 20 and last for about three months. After the buyback is completed, all purchased shares will be retired (cancelled). The buyback and retirement plan totaling 400 trillion won is the largest such transaction in the history of South Korean listed companies.

Spurred by this positive news, SK hynix’s share price jumped as much as 13% intraday on Thursday on the Korean Exchange (KRX).

In a report, analyst Jay Kwon said the key point of the 400 trillion won (about $29 billion) share buyback plan announced by South Korea’s storage-chip giant on Wednesday is that the company has significantly raised the return cap. SK hynix currently has committed to returning more than half of cumulative free cash flow (FCF) for 2025 to 2027, compared with a prior cap of “50%.”

Based on Kwon’s calculations, in addition to the already announced plan, there will be “at least 180 trillion won” of extra shareholder returns by 2027. This amounts to 16% of the current total market value. The analyst believes this move will provide strong support at the bottom for the stock price after recent selling.

In his report, Kwon wrote: “We believe the worst period has passed, and we expect stock sentiment to gradually recover on a mid-term basis. We recommend investors build positions on dips and accumulate in batches.” He added that the timing of the launch of this buyback plan is significantly earlier than market expectations in general.

SK hynix’s strong rebound also lifted South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index, with its biggest rival Samsung Electronics Co. shares rising in tandem by 10%. Separately, according to reports by international media citing unnamed industry sources, Samsung plans to finalize and announce a shareholder return plan exceeding 100 trillion won after this month’s board meeting.

Market expectations for additional dividends and returns could help revive upward momentum in South Korea’s memory sector. Previously, related stocks have been under pressure in recent days due to concerns about the sustainability of AI capital expenditures by large North American technology customers, as well as the mounting threat from increasingly fierce competition by Chinese suppliers. As of now, SK hynix’s share price is still down more than 40% from its all-time high set in June.