▲ Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix
The declared value of treasury share acquisitions and disposals by listed companies has surged more than fivefold year-on-year.
According to the Korea Exchange today (November 1), the total declared amount for treasury share acquisitions and disposals by companies listed on the Kospi and Kosdaq markets from the beginning of the year through last month reached approximately 101.9217 trillion won.
This figure encompasses direct acquisitions, trusts, and the acquisition and disposal of stock options.
It represents an increase of approximately 467.33% compared to 17.9652 trillion won during the same period last year.
By market, Kospi-listed companies recorded 100.4006 trillion won, while Kosdaq-listed companies recorded 1.5207 trillion won, marking increases of 494.78% and 40.22%, respectively, over the same period.
The sharp increase in declared treasury share transactions among Kospi-listed companies was largely driven by SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.
Accounting for the second and first largest market capitalization shares in the Kospi market, respectively, these two companies alone declared 82 trillion won in treasury share acquisitions, accounting for approximately 80.45% of the total declared treasury share acquisitions and disposals by all listed companies this year.
So far this year, SK Hynix declared a total of 60 trillion won in treasury share acquisitions across two occasions in August and October, while Samsung Electronics declared approximately 22 trillion won, including a 15 trillion won treasury share acquisition in August.
Subsequently, SK Hynix completed its first-phase acquisition of 40 trillion won worth of treasury shares by October 21, and initiated a second-phase acquisition worth 20 trillion won on October 29.
SK Hynix's second-phase treasury share acquisition will run until January 28 of next year.
The estimated quantity to be acquired is approximately 14.92 million shares.
Previously, Samsung Electronics also completed its acquisition of 15 trillion won worth of treasury shares by October 6, and plans to finalize additional share buyback measures in January of next year.
While the market expressed disappointment that the announcement of specific execution plans for Samsung Electronics' shareholder return financial resources has been postponed to next year, analysts expect it to serve as a catalyst for future stock price revaluation, given that shareholder returns themselves have not been rescinded.
Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Yuanta Securities, pointed out that "the market's focus is on shareholder return policies rather than strong earnings," and noted that "the difference lies not in the capacity for shareholder returns, but in the visibility of their execution."
However, he added, "Since Samsung Electronics has not withdrawn its shareholder returns, the eventual concretization of its execution plans will serve as an additional factor for stock price revaluation."
Kim Dong-won, head of research at KB Securities, stated, "Samsung Electronics is expected to announce its next three-year shareholder return policy and additional shareholder returns for 2026 in January 2027." He added, "In particular, operating profit over the next two years is projected to exceed the cumulative operating profit of the past 56 years since its founding in 1969 by 51%, making record-breaking earnings and record-breaking shareholder returns a historic turning point for the revaluation of corporate value."
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