Samsung Electronics Approves 30 Trillion Won in Third-Quarter Cash Dividends
Key Facts
Samsung Electronics approved total cash dividends of 30 trillion won for the third quarter of 2026, amounting to 4,601 won per ordinary share and 4,601 won per preferred share, the company said in its quarterly earnings announcement. The decision comes as the company posted record consolidated revenue and operating profit of 107.4 trillion won. The company estimates total shareholder returns for 2026 at between 90 trillion and 110 trillion won. Of that amount, 35 trillion won has been planned or already executed, leaving 55 trillion to 75 trillion won still to be decided and implemented. The company said its board would determine the details of the remaining amount at a meeting in late January 2027.
Samsung's consolidated revenue reached 195.3 trillion won in the third quarter, up 14% from the previous quarter, a level the company described as a quarterly record. Operating profit reached 107.4 trillion won, highlighting the scale of improvement alongside revenue growth. Device Solutions was the biggest profit driver, posting revenue of 147.1 trillion won and operating profit of 106.5 trillion won. By contrast, Device eXperience posted an operating loss of 0.8 trillion won, despite an 8% increase in quarterly revenue. The contrast underscores the extent to which overall results depended on the semiconductor business, as the device business failed to generate operating profit during the quarter.
Samsung attributed record performance in its memory business to a product mix focused on artificial intelligence applications amid capacity constraints. The company said strong server demand lifted market prices across applications. It said the memory business expanded HBM4 sales in response to demand, setting new quarterly records for revenue and operating profit. In its announcement, the company said the business delivered "another record quarter" through product-mix management and a focus on AI products amid capacity constraints. The company linked continued investment in AI infrastructure during the fourth quarter of 2026 to the competition for leadership in the field.
The results were accompanied by capital expenditure of 29 trillion won, up 12.2 trillion won from the previous quarter and 19.8 trillion won from the same period a year earlier. Cumulative spending from January to September reached 56.9 trillion won. Samsung expects capital expenditure to total about 84.4 trillion won in 2026, including 76.8 trillion won for Device Solutions and 3.9 trillion won for Samsung Display. Spending on infrastructure and production capacity provides context for the decision to return funds to shareholders, while the respective shares allocated to cash dividends and share buybacks depend on the implementation plan, whose details have not yet been announced. The remaining return plan includes cash dividends and a large-scale program to buy back and cancel shares.
Samsung expects AI infrastructure investment to continue in the fourth quarter, followed by historically high spending on that infrastructure in 2027 as the AI ecosystem expands. The company also expects AI-driven demand growth in 2027 to outpace industrial supply growth compared with 2026. The final form of shareholder returns will become clear at the board meeting scheduled for late January 2027, when the remaining amount and its implementation plan will be decided, with an announcement to follow the meeting. Samsung's investor relations website had set the third-quarter earnings call for October 29, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Korea time.