Samsung logo seen at Samsung Electronics Seocho Building in Seoul on July 30, 2026. South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics announced on July 30 that its operating profit in the second quarter increased by a whopping 19 times year-on-year, supported by sustained demand for its AI-driven memory chips. (Photo by Jung Young Jae/AFP via Getty Images)
Jung Young Jae | AFP | Getty Images
Samsung Electronics has announced a shareholder return package, marking a big week for shareholder returns among South Korea’s semiconductor giants, following SK Hynix’s share buyback.
The company said on Friday that it expects total shareholder profit in 2026 to be between 90 trillion won and 110 trillion won ($65.1 billion to $79.52 billion).
Samsung calls it “the largest ever for a Korean company.”
The company has been aiming to catch up with domestic rival SK Hynix in the field of high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI systems. The stock is up about 135% since the beginning of the year.
The company also announced that it will pay approximately 30 trillion won in cash dividends in the third quarter, including the regular quarterly dividend.
Payment details will be finalized at a board meeting in late October, the company said.
Samsung’s announcement came a few days after SK Hynix announced a 40 trillion won share buyback.
Samsung said that the scale and details of the remaining shareholder returns will be decided at a board meeting in late January 2027, taking into account a combination of cash dividends and stock buybacks and cancellations.
Friday’s announcement follows Samsung’s 2024-2026 shareholder return program, in which the company pledged to return 50% of free cash flow generated between 2024 and 2026, while maintaining a regular annual dividend of 9.8 trillion won.
In its corporate value improvement plan announced in March, Samsung announced that it would pay 20.9 trillion won in cash dividends in 2024 and 2025 and spend 8.4 trillion won on share buybacks for retirement.
