SK Hynix shares rise against falling market amid reported $12 billion dividend plan

Bloomberg said DongA Ilbo, citing unidentified investment banking sources, reported a planned special dividend of about 16 trillion won ($12 billion). The newspaper’s account said the payout would distribute the bulk of 20 trillion won in gains SK Hynix booked on its Kioxia stake in the first half of 2026. That gain figure comes from the reported proposal, not a company disclosure: Reuters said SK Hynix had not publicly disclosed details of the stake sale, which was completed earlier in the year.

SK Hynix invested about 4 trillion won in Kioxia in 2018 through a Bain Capital-led consortium, according to Reuters. Reuters also reported that SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics had faced investor pressure for bigger dividends or buybacks after profits fueled by demand for AI memory chips. In August, SK Hynix said it would buy back and cancel 40 trillion won of its shares and allocate more than 50% of free cash flow generated from 2025 through 2027 to shareholder returns. That earlier measure is separate from the reported Kioxia-related dividend.

When the stock exchange operator asked about the dividend report, SK Hynix said it was “reviewing various shareholder return measures” and planned to announce them alongside third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, Oct. 28, Reuters reported. Reuters said the company did not elaborate.