TLDR
- Samsung Electronics plans a share buyback worth ~90 trillion won ($58.61 billion), according to Yonhap News Agency
- The buyback follows a pay deal that will give chip division employees special stock bonuses worth ~10.5% of annual operating profit
- Employees can sell one-third of their bonus stock immediately, with the remaining two-thirds released over the following two years
- Samsung stock jumped over 6% on the news, a day after falling more than 12% during a KOSPI-wide selloff that triggered circuit breakers
- Samsung and SK Hynix are both expected to post record profits this year and next, driven by AI-related chip demand
Samsung Electronics stock jumped more than 6% on Wednesday after Yonhap News Agency reported the company is planning a share buyback programme worth approximately 90 trillion won ($58.61 billion).
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SMSD.L
The stock hit 336,500 won during the session, recovering sharply after a brutal Tuesday that saw it fall more than 12% as part of a market-wide collapse on the KOSPI. That selloff triggered circuit breakers for the fourth time in 2026.
The rebound pushed Samsung back to the top spot by common-share market cap in South Korea, outpacing SK Hynix’s more modest 1.6% gain on the day.
Yonhap cited unidentified industry sources in its report. Samsung Electronics did not respond to requests for comment on the buyback plan or its timing.
Tuesday’s drop was partly driven by heavy profit-taking. Samsung’s stock had surged nearly 450% over the prior 12 months. Selling in highly leveraged single-stock ETFs tracking Samsung and SK Hynix also added fuel to the fire. South Korea’s financial regulator publicly expressed regret over approving 16 of those leveraged ETFs, which launched in late May.
The KOSPI index closed down 9.99% on Tuesday at 8,203.84 points.
The Buyback Explained
The buyback plan is tied directly to a recent pay deal between Samsung management and its union. Under that agreement, Samsung will set aside roughly 10.5% of its annual operating profit for special bonuses for chip division employees, paid out in the form of stock.
That arrangement sparked internal concerns about inequality, as the bonus structure would primarily benefit employees in the chip division.
Employees who receive treasury stock as part of the bonus will be able to sell one-third immediately. The next third is locked up for one year, and the final third for a further year after that.
Samsung may also need to buy back more stock to support a separate compensation scheme called the Performance Stock Unit programme, introduced last October. That plan ties employee rewards to long-term stock performance.
AI Boom Drives Record Profit Expectations
Samsung and SK Hynix are both forecast to report record profits this year and in 2026, driven by surging demand for memory chips used in AI infrastructure. Technology companies racing to build out data centres have created a shortage of the high-bandwidth memory chips needed to train and run AI models, pushing prices up.
That backdrop has been a major driver of Samsung’s near 450% stock run over the past year, and also helps explain the scale of shareholder and employee pressure on the company to redistribute some of its gains.
Samsung has not confirmed the buyback programme or provided details on timing.
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