00:00Samsung nailing down plans to return as much as $79.6 billion to shareholders, joining
00:05SK Hynix in giving investors some of the money generated by the AI boom to calm spending
00:10fears.
00:11The plan could further extend the Wands rally if the chip makers tap local currency markets.
00:15Joining us now is Bloomberg's Tom McKenzie.
00:17So the board has voted.
00:19Tom and investors do get to participate.
00:20Is this the beginning of a boon that continues for investors into coming quarters?
00:26Yeah, this decision happening just a few hours ago then in Solveen, a closely watched, of
00:31course, meeting amongst the board.
00:32They've been under pressure from their investors to return more cash to shareholders via dividends
00:37and buybacks.
00:38And that's what they've done.
00:39Some of the money is going to go towards rewarding their employees as well.
00:42We remember, of course, the strikes that took place and the pressure to give bonuses to employees.
00:47So that's also part of the mix.
00:49This is a company, along with SK Hynix, that has a very solid balance sheet.
00:53They have seen this record demand for high bandwidth memory that goes into those Nvidia chipsets.
00:59Nvidia is, of course, one of their main customers.
01:01That demand has continued.
01:03It's continued at pace.
01:04And so they've generated a lot of cash.
01:06Investors have been pressuring them to return that cash.
01:09And that is the decision then over $110 trillion won, which, as you say, translates into the high
01:14side of the $70 billion in terms of US dollars, $76, $77 billion US dollars or thereabouts.
01:19SK Hynix, by the way, of course, came out with about $29 billion.
01:22They're returning to shareholders as well.
01:24Will there be more in the pipeline?
01:25Potentially.
01:26That will, of course, in part come down to how much continued demand there is for high
01:31bandwidth memory and for these chips that go into those Nvidia chipsets.
01:34So that continues to be a focus of attention.
01:36The stocks, by the way, both those companies, Samsung and SK Hynix, are both down about 25%
01:40from the peaks in June.
01:41There is a view now that with the return of cash to shareholders that maybe they put a bit
01:46of a flaw under that stock.
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