Samsung Electronics announced plans for a share buyback program worth about 90 trillion won (approximately US$58.6 billion) to fund stock bonuses for its employees following a wage agreement reached in May and June 2026 with the labor union [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8].
Under the deal, Samsung will allocate about 10.5% of its operating profit as special bonuses for employees in its chip division, awarding the bonuses in company stock [1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8]. These bonuses will be distributed as treasury shares, with recipients able to sell one-third immediately, another third after one year, and the final third after two years [1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8].
The total cost of the bonuses, including roughly 40% in taxes, is estimated at 154 trillion won [3, 5, 6, 7, 8]. The massive bonus package follows a May 2026 employee strike that pushed management and union leaders to reach the pay agreement [6, 7].
Samsung shares surged over 6% following reports of the stock bonus plan, outperforming other chipmakers such as SK Hynix [1, 3]. The share buyback is also intended to cover a "Performance Stock Unit" compensation program introduced in October 2025 that ties rewards to long-term stock performance [1].
Samsung has not finalized the timeline or exact scale of the buyback plan. A company statement said, "The matter is still under discussion, and the specific timeline and scale have not been determined. We plan to announce further details within one month at the latest" [4].
The AI boom has boosted demand and prices for memory chips, supporting expectations of record profits for Samsung and SK Hynix in 2026 and 2027 [1]. The pay deal and bonus plan has sparked internal discussions on pay inequality within the company [1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8].
Samsung is expected to announce definitive details of the share buyback program within the next month [4].
