Samsung Reportedly Plans Up to $79B Shareholder Return

According to people familiar with the matter, Samsung Electronics is expected to announce a new shareholder return program on August 21, with a total value estimated at 90 trillion to 110 trillion Korean won, or as much as approximately $79 billion. If confirmed, the plan could become one of the company’s largest capital return programs in recent years.

Sources said Samsung Electronics plans to hold a board meeting at around 4 p.m. Korea Standard Time on August 21 and disclose details of the shareholder return plan after the meeting. It remains unclear how the funds will be divided between cash dividends and share buybacks, as well as the planned implementation period. Samsung Electronics declined to comment.

The potential shareholder return comes as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications is driving a rapid recovery in the global memory semiconductor market. Rising demand and prices for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), DRAM, and other memory products have significantly improved the profitability of major memory chip manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics. Investors are also increasingly calling on semiconductor companies to allocate more of their growing cash reserves to share buybacks and dividends.

Meanwhile, SK hynix recently announced a 40 trillion won share buyback program, further strengthening expectations that Samsung Electronics could increase its own shareholder returns. Investors believe Samsung has room to expand capital returns as its memory business continues to benefit from stronger earnings and its cash position improves.