Samsung and SK Hynix are reportedly working on the largest-ever shareholder return plan, with a total value possibly exceeding $140 billion.

According to South Korea’s Seoul Economic Daily, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are internally developing large-scale shareholder return plans, with specific details possibly announced as early as the end of this month. As artificial intelligence drives the storage chip industry into a supercycle, the two firms’ free cash flow has surged sharply, leading market analysts to project that total shareholder returns—including special dividends, share repurchases, and cancellations—could exceed 200 trillion won (approximately $141.2 billion). Samsung Electronics previously committed to allocating 50% of its cumulative free cash flow to shareholder returns under its three-year shareholder return policy covering 2024 to 2026. Market forecasts suggest that fueled by this year’s robust free cash flow growth, Samsung’s shareholder return scale could hit 100 trillion to 125 trillion won, with some institutions even estimating around 120 trillion won, likely via special dividends, share repurchases, and cancellations. SK Hynix has also pledged to allocate 50% of its cumulative free cash flow for 2025 to 2027 to shareholder returns. As of the end of the second quarter, the company’s cash assets stood at 88 trillion won, net cash rose to 69.4 trillion won, plus an additional 39.8905 trillion won raised through a new American Depositary Receipt (ADR) issuance on the Nasdaq. Market projections indicate its upcoming special dividends, extra repurchases, and cancellations could reach tens of trillions of won, with the maximum possibly approaching 100 trillion won. However, both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix noted that the exact announcement timeline and shareholder return amounts have not yet been finalized, and they are still reviewing multiple plans to boost shareholder value.