Samsung to hand shareholders record $80 billion after AI profit surge

Samsung said it will return $80 billion to shareholders, the largest such commitment in the company's history, after coming under investor pressure to distribute more of the profits generated by the AI boom in chips. The move follows a stretch of bumper earnings tied to demand for AI-related semiconductors. Alongside the shareholder payout, Samsung authorized 78.9 billion won for a fund to support suppliers, a signal the company wants to keep its supply chain intact while it channels cash back to investors. The scale of the buyback puts Samsung among the largest corporate capital-return programs globally this year. What remains unclear is the timeline for the $80 billion return — whether it comes through buybacks, dividends, or a mix of both — and how much of it is tied to sustained AI chip demand holding up through the rest of the year.