[Edaily Reporter SOYEON KIM ] SamsungElectronics is reportedly planning to purchase up to 90 trillion won worth of additional treasury stock. Following an agreement between SamsungElectronics’ management and labor unions to pay special performance bonuses in the form of treasury stock, a large-scale buyback is inevitable to secure the necessary shares for employee compensation.

According to industry sources on the 24th, SamsungElectronics is considering additional share buybacks to fund the special management performance bonuses and is expected to announce its plans shortly.

Previously, in accordance with the labor-management agreement, SamsungElectronics decided to pay employees in its Semiconductor (DS) division a special management performance bonus equivalent to 10.5% of operating profit. The securities industry forecasts SamsungElectronics’ operating profit for this year to be approximately 350 trillion won. Based on this figure, the special management performance bonus for the DS division this year is estimated to reach about 37 trillion won.

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The market anticipates that if the current semiconductor boom continues, SamsungElectronics’ cumulative operating profit over the three-year period from 2026 to 2028 will reach approximately 1,470 trillion won. Applying the same criteria, the total amount of special management performance bonuses would be approximately 154 trillion won. SamsungElectronics will withhold taxes from this amount and distribute approximately 93 trillion won worth of it in the form of treasury stock.

Since the company has also decided to grant employees in the Consumer Electronics (DX) division treasury stock worth 6 million won per person, the volume of treasury stock currently held by SamsungElectronics is insufficient.

With the addition of the Performance-Based Stock Unit (PSU) program, the need for additional repurchases of treasury stock is growing even more. SamsungElectronics introduced the PSU program for all employees last October. The company agreed to grant 200 shares to staff and assistant manager-level employees and 300 shares to section chief, deputy director, and director-level employees; under this structure, the number of shares granted can increase by up to two times depending on the stock price at the evaluation date three years later (October 13, 2028).

The PSU reference price is 85,385 won. If the stock price at the evaluation date exceeds 170,770 won—double the reference price—employees will receive 400 or 600 shares, respectively, which is double the agreed-upon amount. Based on today’s closing price of 340,500 won, SamsungElectronics’ stock price is already well above this threshold.

Assuming the current stock price is maintained until the evaluation date three years from now, the estimated number of PSU shares that SamsungElectronics must distribute to all 128,000 employees is approximately 70.58 million shares. At the current stock price, this amounts to approximately 24 trillion won.

Ultimately, combining the approximately 93 trillion won needed for the DS division’s special management performance bonus with the approximately 24 trillion won in PSU compensation creates a demand for treasury stock exceeding 110 trillion won. SamsungElectronics currently holds 82.09 million shares of treasury stock, valued at approximately 28 trillion won based on today’s closing price.

Industry observers believe it is highly likely that SamsungElectronics will proceed with additional share buybacks worth tens of trillions of won in the future to secure treasury shares for employee compensation. In particular, it is assessed that share buybacks themselves improve supply and demand dynamics, and since the shares distributed to employees are subject to a lock-up period, this could have a positive effect on enhancing shareholder value.