Samsung just announced Korea's largest shareholder return plan in history.
The board approved a 2026 package worth ₩90–110 trillion — roughly 5x the previous record set in 2020.
₩30 trillion in cash dividends is planned for Q3, with final details coming end of October. The rest (more dividends, buybacks, or cancellations) gets decided in January 2027 after full-year results.
Separately, they cleared a ₩15 trillion buyback for employee compensation.
This stacks on top of the existing policy to return 50% of free cash flow from 2024–2026.
The driver? AI-driven memory demand. Q2 operating profit jumped 18x year-over-year. Analysts now see full-year profit near ₩380 trillion and free cash flow potentially above ₩200 trillion.
This follows SK Hynix's ₩40 trillion buyback and mirrors what peers like Micron are doing with capital returns.
Some investors were hoping for ₩150–200 trillion, so the final number came in a bit light and triggered a mild after-hours dip.
Still, this is a strong signal Samsung plans to share the semiconductor supercycle with shareholders while keeping room for future capex.
The board approved a 2026 package worth ₩90–110 trillion — roughly 5x the previous record set in 2020.
₩30 trillion in cash dividends is planned for Q3, with final details coming end of October. The rest (more dividends, buybacks, or cancellations) gets decided in January 2027 after full-year results.
Separately, they cleared a ₩15 trillion buyback for employee compensation.
This stacks on top of the existing policy to return 50% of free cash flow from 2024–2026.
The driver? AI-driven memory demand. Q2 operating profit jumped 18x year-over-year. Analysts now see full-year profit near ₩380 trillion and free cash flow potentially above ₩200 trillion.
This follows SK Hynix's ₩40 trillion buyback and mirrors what peers like Micron are doing with capital returns.
Some investors were hoping for ₩150–200 trillion, so the final number came in a bit light and triggered a mild after-hours dip.
Still, this is a strong signal Samsung plans to share the semiconductor supercycle with shareholders while keeping room for future capex.