SK Hynix Shares Surge as $28.7 Billion Buyback Boosts Investor Confidence

SK Hynix shares rallied more than 12% after the company announced plans to accelerate its large-scale share repurchase and cancellation program. The initiative is worth 40 trillion won, or about $28.7 billion, making it one of the most significant shareholder return programs in the company’s history.

The chipmaker also said it plans to expand shareholder returns to more than 50% of cumulative free cash flow generated between 2025 and 2027. Analysts said the policy could provide a meaningful floor for the share price while reducing downside risk during periods of market volatility.

Citi analyst Peter Lee said the buyback reflects SK Hynix’s confidence in its medium- and long-term outlook despite current headwinds in the memory industry. The company remains one of the biggest beneficiaries of strong demand for high-bandwidth memory used in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The announcement follows SK Hynix’s decision earlier this month to invest 54 trillion won in new memory chip manufacturing facilities. The planned expansion is aimed at supporting long-term demand for HBM, DRAM and NAND products as global technology companies continue to increase spending on AI data centers.

The rally also came as technology shares across Asia recovered from recent losses. Improving sentiment on Wall Street and a pullback in longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields helped support risk appetite across regional equity markets.

In South Korea, Samsung Electronics gained nearly 9%, while Kakao also advanced. Japanese technology names including SoftBank Group, Nintendo and Rakuten moved higher as investors returned to growth stocks after several volatile sessions.

Semiconductor shares in particular have experienced sharp swings in recent weeks as investors balance optimism around AI-related demand against concerns over memory pricing, capital spending and elevated valuations. South Korea’s chip-heavy equity market has consequently moved rapidly between large gains and steep corrections.

For SK Hynix, the combination of aggressive capacity expansion and a substantial capital return program sends a clear message to investors. Management is signaling that it expects AI-driven memory demand to remain strong enough to support both heavy investment in future growth and significantly higher shareholder distributions.