SEOUL — Samsung Electronics is set to announce a new shareholder return policy later this month worth more than 100 trillion won ($71.75 billion), media reported on Thursday, as the company plans to share record profits with shareholders amid an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven chip supercycle.
The South Korean memory-chipmaker will hold a board meeting at the end of August to approve a shareholder return plan that includes a special dividend, MoneyToday reported, citing unidentified people in the industry.Samsung will spend 50 percent of its free cash flow on the new program, the report said.Local rival SK Hynix announced on Wednesday unveiled a 40-trillion-won ($28.6 billion) share buyback and cancellation plan.SK Hynix, the world’s second-largest memory-chipmaker behind Samsung, has agreed to pay 60 percent of this year’s employee bonuses in shares and the remaining 40 percent in cash under a preliminary wage agreement, a person familiar with the matter said.The remaining 40 percent of the profit-sharing bonus would be paid in cash in 2027. The agreement is being discussed by union delegates.The AI boom has sent SK Hynix’s earnings soaring, leading to eye-popping bonuses for its employees. Its workers are set to receive an average payout of 779 million won ($547,000) for 2026, according to Reuters calculations.That helped SK Hynix’s stock jump 13 percent on Thursday.Record profits from SK Hynix and Samsung have fueled optimism over South Korea’s economic outlook this year.The gains in the two companies helped propel South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index to a record high above 9,000 points in mid-June, before it was dragged down by the tech rout.