SK Hynix announced a stock buyback program of up to 40 trillion Korean won (about $29 billion USD), set to run from August 20 to November 19, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9].

The company will repurchase and cancel up to 24 million shares, representing roughly 3.3% of its outstanding shares [1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9]. This large buyback aims to reassure investors amid concerns about the sustainability of AI hardware spending, according to company sources [1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9]. After the announcement, SK Hynix’s stock and American Depositary Receipt prices rose over 4% in after-hours trading [3, 4, 7, 8, 9].

SK Hynix also increased its shareholder return commitment, pledging to use more than 50% of its free cash flow from 2025 through 2027 to reward shareholders, up from a previous target of up to 50% [2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9]. The company said it will "raise the total shareholder returns target beyond 50% of cumulative free cash flow through stock repurchases, cancellations, and dividends" [2].

Morgan Stanley analyst Jay Kwon estimated that SK Hynix could deliver at least 180 trillion Korean won ($130 billion) in shareholder returns by 2027, equating to about 16% of its current market capitalization [10]. Other analysts see the buyback as a sign that SK Hynix expects memory chip prices to remain firm; eToro’s Josh Gilbert noted the program signals confidence in pricing, calling it "a strong reply to investors calling for better use of rising cash balances" [1, 4, 7, 10].

SK Hynix plays a key role supplying high-bandwidth memory chips for AI servers and is investing heavily to ramp up capacity to meet demand [5, 9]. Despite these efforts, Board member Gary Tan cautioned that "stock buybacks may provide temporary relief to memory stocks, but the main driver remains interest rates," adding that sustained market volatility is likely until long-term yields stabilize [5].

Additional corporate governance changes include SK Hynix agreeing with employees to allocate 60% of 2026 bonuses in company stock and 40% in cash, though some workers opposed this stock-heavy arrangement [11].

Samsung Electronics is expected to unveil its own major shareholder return plan exceeding 100 trillion won later this month, following SK Hynix’s lead [11]. SK Hynix is scheduled to provide more details about its shareholder returns during its Q3 2026 earnings release [2, 4, 7].