Samsung Electronics is preparing to unveil a shareholder-return program worth more than 100 trillion won ($71.75 billion), Reuters and Bloomberg reported this week, using surging AI-chip cash flow to fund what could be the largest capital-return package in Korean corporate history.
50% Of Free Cash Flow, Plus A Special Dividend
People familiar with the plan told Reuters that Samsung will earmark 50% of its free cash flow for the program, layered on top of a special dividend. A board meeting is scheduled before the end of August to sign off on the framework, according to Bloomberg. On Friday the chipmaker itself guided that 2026 shareholder returns will land between 90 trillion and 110 trillion won, or roughly $65 billion to $80 billion, depending on cash generation over the remainder of the year.
HBM Cash Windfall
The package caps a blistering year for Samsung's memory business, which posted a record 89.5 trillion won operating profit in Q2 2026, up more than 1,800% year on year, on soaring demand for high-bandwidth memory used in AI servers. Samsung has also scheduled the groundbreaking of a new HBM plant and moved to repay a $15 billion loan early. Analysts point to Samsung's race with TSMC on advanced foundry nodes and its expansion into the AI-chip supply chain as key drivers of the payout.
SK Hynix Sets The Pace
The move follows a competitive buyback and dividend package from cross-town rival SK Hynix, which used its own HBM windfall to reward shareholders in early August. Together, the two Korean memory leaders are on track to return more than $150 billion to shareholders this cycle, cementing memory as the surprise winner of the current AI capital-expenditure boom that also underpinned Broadcom's mammoth AI-chip debt package.
Reporting based on coverage from Reuters, Bloomberg, CNBC and Quartz.