Samsung Electronics is preparing to return more than 100 trillion won, roughly $71.75 billion, to shareholders through a major payout program, underscoring the company’s confidence that AI-driven demand for memory will remain strong. The plan, reported on Wednesday and expected to be discussed at a board meeting at the end of August, includes a special dividend funded from half of the firm’s available cash.
The move follows a broader debate over whether the AI infrastructure boom is producing excess cash that should be returned to investors rather than hoarded. Samsung and SK Hynix have faced criticism for low shareholder returns even as AI memory profits surge. By year-end, the two companies are projected to hold combined net cash of about $263 billion, more than twice Nvidia's estimated $102 billion, according to LSEG and Reuters data.
SK Hynix announced earlier this week a 40 trillion won ($28.67 billion) share buyback and cancellation program, calling it the largest shareholder return ever announced by a publicly listed South Korean company. Samsung’s reported plan would be even larger.
On Friday, Samsung shares climbed as much as 3.9% to ₩279,500, and the stock closed up 3.5%. Analysts at KB Securities said Samsung could move toward the ₩300,000 level, citing prolonged memory chip shortages and the expected special dividend exceeding 100 trillion won as key catalysts. SK Hynix shares finished 4.4% higher.
Samsung’s record results underpin the payout. In the quarter ending June 30, the company reported 171.5 trillion won in revenue and 89.5 trillion won in operating profit, with the Device Solutions memory unit generating nearly all profit on demand for high-bandwidth memory, server DRAM, and enterprise SSDs. TrendForce expects DRAM contract prices to rise 58% to 63% in the third quarter and NAND flash prices to climb 70% to 75%, with memory supply remaining structurally tight through 2027.
The potential ripple effect is higher costs for PCs and smartphones as conventional memory competes with AI hardware for limited manufacturing capacity. Still, for crypto markets, the direct impact appears limited; the reports are primarily a corporate capital-return story from the AI and semiconductor sector.
