Shareholders of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are pushing for higher dividends and larger share buybacks as the combined cash reserves of Korea’s two chip giants are projected to reach $263 billion by the end of 2026. SK Hynix reported a 557 % year-over-year jump in Q2 2026 operating profit, driven by explosive demand for high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI applications. Despite these record results, Samsung’s stock has declined roughly 37 % from its June peak, and SK Hynix is down approximately 48 %. A retail investor group called ACT has launched a campaign urging Samsung to implement a $32 billion share buyback program. Both companies currently target returning around 50 % of free cash flow to shareholders, but investors are pushing for that figure to rise to 80 %.
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