Regarding SK Hynix's shareholder return plan worth 40 trillion won, securities firms generally forecast a positive impact on future stock prices. The key point is seen as the fact that the scale of the return plan has increased compared to previous ones.
Lee Jae-won, a researcher at Yuanta Securities, evaluated on the 19th regarding SK Hynix's decision to acquire and retire its own shares worth 40 trillion won: "At this point in time when valuation burdens have increased due to rising market interest rates, SK Hynix has demonstrated that performance improvements are being directly linked to actual shareholder returns, providing strong material for reevaluating its stock price defense capabilities."
SK Hynix held a board of directors meeting on this day and announced that it will return more than 50% of the cumulative free cash flow (FCF) through 2027, while simultaneously proceeding with share buybacks and dividends.
The planned amount for share acquisition is a total of 40 trillion won. Based on the closing price per share of 1.662 million won from the day before the board resolution, this corresponds to approximately 3.3% of the issued shares (totaling 730.49 million shares). The planned acquisition period will be about three months starting August 20, and all acquired shares are scheduled to be retired after the acquisition ends. This is the largest case of share retirement among domestic listed companies.
This researcher stated, "(After the announcement of the shareholder return plan) NextTrade is currently undergoing a rebound that has mostly recovered the sharp decline seen today, and NASDAQ futures are also recovering most of their losses." He added, "Expectations that Samsung Electronics will also expand its shareholder return are being reflected as well."
Some experts also point out that the core point of this shareholder return plan is the change from a previous plan announced in November 2024 to implement shareholder returns within the range of 50% of cumulative FCF over three years (2025-2027) to more than 50% of FCF.
Noh Geun-chang, head of the Research Center at Hyundai Motor Securities, emphasized, "Announcing a shareholder return of more than 50% by 2027 reflects confidence in business conditions and is expected to become a strong momentum for stock prices." Kim Young-geon, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, also stated, "The plan to return more than 50% of FCF is a more positive point than the 40th trillion won shareholder return plan."
A research center official from a securities firm who requested anonymity said, "SK Hynix's acquisition and retirement of its own shares worth 40 trillion won has the potential to act as a catalyst that alleviates some of the valuation discounts recently reflected in stock prices and reduces the gap with target prices." However, he added, "However, to reduce this gap, it is also necessary for the market to regain trust in AI memory demand, supply shortages, and performance growth."
On the other hand, there are also arguments that it is difficult to determine whether SK Hynix's shareholder return will unconditionally have a positive impact on short-term stock prices. Choi Bo-young, a researcher at Kyobo Securities, said, "Theoretically, it is good news, but event-driven buying may occur, making it difficult to predict the short-term impact on stock prices."
Another research center official from a securities firm who requested anonymity also stated, "Rather than being an enormous piece of good news, it seems to be more about raising expectations that Samsung Electronics might not engage in shareholder returns."
Jung Woo-sung, a researcher at LS Securities, said, "It is judged that SK Hynix's shareholder return will serve as an opportunity to enhance market trust and partially alleviate valuation discount factors. However, he added, "However, it is believed that the fundamental gap between current target prices and stock prices cannot be resolved solely by expanding shareholder returns."
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