100 trillion KRW! SK Hynix's "largest shareholder return in history" is rewriting the valuation logic of memory stocks
August 10, Seoul.
The South Korean KOSPI index surged sharply at the open, rising over 2% at one point.
SK Hynix rose more than 4%, Samsung Electronics rose over 3%.
What happened?
A shareholder return plan has set the entire Korean stock market ablaze.
According to the Korea Economic Daily, SK Hynix is preparing a shareholder return plan totaling about 100 trillion KRW (approximately $71 billion).
Of this, about 40 trillion KRW (approximately $28.4 billion) will be used for stock buybacks, accounting for more than 2% of the company's total shares.
What does 100 trillion KRW mean?
Last year, SK Hynix paid 2.1 trillion KRW in cash dividends and canceled 12.2 trillion KRW in stock, totaling only 14.3 trillion.
This year, it’s directly 7 times that amount.
This is not just an increase; this is a game changer.
You might ask: Where does SK Hynix get the confidence?
Two words: HBM.
In Q1 this year, SK Hynix held a dominant 58% market share in the global HBM market.
HBM4 began mass production and shipment in Q2, with plans to expand production in the second half of the year. Starting September, 12-layer HBM4 for Nvidia’s next-generation AI platform "Vera Rubin" will be shipped on a large scale.
Financial information platforms predict SK Hynix’s full-year 2026 revenue to be about 345.6 trillion KRW, with operating profit around 266.4 trillion KRW—year-on-year growth of 256% and 464%, respectively.
They earn a lot, so they dare to give back a lot.
This is not generosity; this is confidence.
But the truly important thing is—this plan is rewriting the valuation logic of memory stocks.
What was the past market valuation logic for memory stocks?
"Earning money during the boom cycle."
When the cycle comes, stock prices soar. When the cycle ends, stock prices are halved. Always a roller coaster.
But what if SK Hynix consistently repurchases shares worth hundreds of billions of KRW every year?
The valuation anchor will shift from "cyclical PE" to "dividend yield + buyback yield."
From "how many chips are sold" to "how much is returned to shareholders."
This is a structural change.
HSBC previously pointed out that the market is pessimistic about SK Hynix’s profit cycle pricing, and this shareholder return plan may become an important factor in valuation improvement.
Bank of America expects SK Hynix to return 50% of free cash flow to shareholders, with stock buybacks exceeding 40 trillion KRW and cash dividends over 20 trillion KRW.
The market is saying: I no longer see you as a cyclical stock.
And this is not just SK Hynix’s story.
Bank of America expects Samsung Electronics to also launch a special dividend exceeding 30 trillion KRW and stock buybacks of 40 trillion KRW.
KB Securities even predicts Samsung’s annual shareholder return scale could be between 100 trillion and 200 trillion KRW.
The two Korean memory giants are collectively shifting from "growth stocks" to "value stocks."
Capital is voting with its feet. On August 10, the KOSPI index rose over 2%, SK Hynix rose over 4%, and Samsung Electronics rose over 3%.
This is not a one-day rebound.
This is a reconstruction of the valuation system.
Of course, there is always another side to the coin.
On the same day, the Wall Street Journal revealed that Apple is testing ChangXin Memory’s memory chips, planning to use them in multiple product lines of iPhone and MacBook.
Some ChangXin products are priced comparable to Samsung and SK Hynix, sometimes even higher.
China’s memory catch-up has not stopped.
JPMorgan expects SK Hynix’s share of Nvidia’s HBM supply to drop from 91% in 2023 to 54% in 2026.
Competition is intensifying. But SK Hynix’s choice is—to tell the market with real money: I have confidence in the future.
To be honest—
The story of the three memory giants is shifting from "how many chips are sold" to "how much is returned to shareholders."
In the past five years, you bet on whether DRAM prices would rise.
In the next five years, you bet on whether these companies are willing to share money with you.
100 trillion KRW is the starting point, not the end.
Bank of America expects the memory super cycle to possibly continue until 2028. SK Hynix management stated that overall shipments in the second half are expected to exceed those in the first half.
Performance is there, cash flow is there, buybacks are there.
This may be the second phase of this memory bull market.
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