SK Hynix launches $28.6 million buyback after stock devalues

SK Hynix’s board has approved a 40 trillion won (about $29 billion) buyback and cancellation of its own stock, representing the largest treasury cancellation ever initiated by a listed South Korean company. The chipmaker’s management claims the action is guided by its view that the market prices the company below its actual worth.

Largest stock cancellation in Korean market history

The company disclosed the decision through a regulatory filing after a board meeting today, according to SK Hynix’s newsroom. The company plans to retire all of the repurchased stock instead of repurposing it as treasury shares, which will permanently shrink the share count and lift each remaining holder’s slice of the company.

Using the 1,662,000 won closing price from the session before the board vote, the 40 trillion won buyback will acquire about 24.07 million shares, or approximately 3.3% of the 730,492,365 shares outstanding, the filing states.

Buying starts on August 20 and is scheduled to go on for about three months, with cancellation to follow once the purchases are complete. SK Hynix has said this will pull forward a shareholder-return program it first mentioned in November 2024, a program that promised payouts from 50% of the company’s cumulative free cash flow for 2025 till 2027.

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