Samsung Electronics Plans Record $64.8 Billion to $79.2 Billion Shareholder Return This Year

Samsung Electronics moves to share chip-windfall gains more broadly

Company approves record $64.8 billion to $79.2 billion shareholder return for 2026

Nearly five times its 2020 record; three-year total could reach $100.8 billion

Comes after about $720 million in support through Onnuri vouchers and inclusive finance

Separately approves $10.8 billion share buyback for employee compensation

Samsung Electronics Co. plans a record shareholder return program this year worth about $64.8 billion to $79.2 billion. The move follows about $720 million in social support over the past month through Onnuri gift certificate reimbursements and aid for financially vulnerable groups. This time, the company plans to return profits to shareholders through large cash dividends and share buybacks and retirements. Gains from the semiconductor upcycle are being distributed more broadly to society, shareholders and employees.

Shareholder return could reach $79.2 billion, the largest on record

Samsung Electronics approved a shareholder return plan worth about $64.8 billion to $79.2 billion at a board meeting on August 21, industry officials said on August 22. That would be the largest annual shareholder return program ever by a South Korean company. It is about five times Samsung Electronics' previous record of $14.6 billion in 2020.

Samsung Electronics will first pay about $21.6 billion in cash dividends in the third quarter, including its regular dividend. The board will finalize the exact amount in late October. The rest of the shareholder return plan and its structure will be decided at a board meeting in January 2027, after this year's business results are finalized. The company said it will determine the specific mix, including cash dividends and share buybacks and retirements.

The decision also carries out Samsung Electronics' existing policy of using 50% of free cash flow from 2024 through 2026 for shareholder returns. Samsung Electronics paid $7.1 billion in regular dividends in both 2024 and 2025, for a total of $14.1 billion. Last year, it also paid a special dividend of $936 million and bought back and retired $6.05 billion of its own shares. Including this year's planned payout, Samsung Electronics' total shareholder return for 2024 through 2026 is projected at $86.4 billion to $100.8 billion.

The company is also expanding employee compensation. Samsung Electronics separately approved a plan at the same August 21 board meeting to buy about $10.8 billion of treasury shares for employee rewards. The company said such purchases should also help enhance shareholder value.

Samsung Electronics said the aim is to ensure the company's growth translates into tangible benefits for shareholders and to sustain a cycle in which corporate growth and shareholder value reinforce each other.

About $720 million deployed in a month for consumers and vulnerable groups

Just a month earlier, Samsung rolled out a series of large support measures aimed at consumers, small merchants and financially vulnerable groups. Through its "With the People, Samsung Electronics Appreciation Festival," which ran through July, the company returned 20% of product purchases in digital Onnuri gift certificates. The event ran for four weeks from June 8 to July 5.

Samsung had initially expected gift certificate reimbursements of about $288 million, but stronger-than-expected consumer demand pushed the actual payout to more than $576 million, according to estimates. Given the structure of refunding 20% of the purchase amount in gift certificates, Samsung Electronics product sales during the event are estimated to have reached about $2.88 billion.

A notable feature was that Samsung provided Onnuri gift certificates, which can be used at traditional markets and local small-business shops, instead of directly discounting product prices. That allowed benefits received by buyers of Samsung Electronics products to flow back into neighborhood commercial districts and traditional markets.

Samsung also committed $144 million to support financially vulnerable groups. Together with financial affiliates including Samsung Life Insurance Co., Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Samsung Card Co. and Samsung Securities Co., the company said last month it would contribute a total of $144 million to the Samsung Smile Microfinance Foundation. The funds will be used for business operating capital, startup funding and emergency living expenses for financially vulnerable groups and very small business owners. Loans will be provided on an unsecured and unguaranteed basis, with interest rates capped at 4.5% a year. Samsung expects about 40,000 people to receive support.

Combined, the roughly $576 million in Onnuri gift certificate reimbursements and the $144 million contribution to the microfinance foundation amount to about $720 million released by Samsung into society in just over a month. The effort has accelerated since a labor-management agreement was reached in late May. At the time, Samsung Electronics executives said they would create a $3.6 billion fund over the next five years to invest in shared growth, a healthier industrial ecosystem and the development of future talent.

Samsung Electronics executives said they would further strengthen the company's social responsibility so that Samsung's growth and performance can create a virtuous cycle not only for employees but also for South Korean society.

Hong Min-seong, Hankyung.com reporter mshong@hankyung.com