Samsung Electronics Falls 3.53% as Korean Memory Chip Stocks Retreat
On September 11, 2026, South Korea's two major memory chipmakers closed lower. Samsung Electronics fell 3.53% to 259,500 won per share, with a market capitalization of about 1,713.74 trillion won, down 22.8% from its early-June peak of about 2,219 trillion won. SK Hynix dropped 2.21% to 1,812,000 won, with a market value of about 1,350.59 trillion won, down 36.2% from its late-June peak of about 2,118 trillion won.
On September 11, 2026, shares of South Korea's two major memory chipmakers closed lower. Samsung Electronics fell 3.53% to 259,500 won per share, with a market capitalization of about 1,713.74 trillion won, down 22.8% from its early-June peak of about 2,219 trillion won. SK Hynix fell 2.21% to 1,812,000 won per share, with a market capitalization of about 1,350.59 trillion won, down 36.2% from its late-June peak of about 2,118 trillion won. The two companies' shares had rebounded notably after they announced investor return plans in mid-to-late August. On September 7, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose 5.7% and 8.1%, respectively. Over the same period, the KOSPI rebounded about 27.5% cumulatively from its July 30 low.
In July 2026, the Bank of Korea raised interest rates. On September 10, US August PPI rose 5.4% year on year.
In the second quarter of 2026, general-purpose DRAM contract prices rose significantly, and overall DRAM industry revenue grew 59.5% from the first quarter to nearly USD 154.73 billion. Large language model training and AI inference stimulated AI server demand, with memory shipments growing in tandem. On the supply side, original manufacturer inventories were at a trough, new supply prioritized server applications, and overall second-quarter DRAM shipments rose slightly. Samsung Electronics' second-quarter memory revenue grew 63.4% quarter on quarter, ranking first with a 39.4% market share; SK Hynix's second-quarter memory revenue grew 37.9% quarter on quarter, with a 24.9% market share. DRAM capacity expansion is currently active, while NAND expansion is mainly led by Yangtze Memory Technologies.
On August 19, 2026, SK Hynix's board resolved to repurchase and fully cancel 40 trillion won of shares, about 24.07 million shares, or 3.3% of issued shares, to be completed within about three months from August 20, 2026, and to raise its 2025-2027 shareholder return to more than 50% of cumulative free cash flow. On August 21, 2026, Samsung Electronics announced a shareholder return plan of 90 trillion to 110 trillion won, mainly in cash dividends. A proposal to pay about 30 trillion won in dividends in the third quarter of 2026 awaits finalization at the October board meeting, with other forms of return to be finalized at the January 2027 board meeting.