Many memory chipmakers are buying back their shares, but Micron Technology shareholders will have to wait until at least the end of this year before the company can do the same.
SK Hynix plans to buy back 40 trillion won, or about $29 billion, worth of shares over three months starting Thursday. This comes just weeks after its U.S. listing, even though the shares have struggled since then. Japan’s Kioxia also finished a roughly $5 billion buyback this month.
Samsung Electronics is expected to take an even bigger step. Several South Korean media outlets report that the company plans to announce a shareholder return program worth more than 100 trillion won later this month. Samsung did not respond right away to a request for comment.
Samsung shares jumped in South Korea on Wednesday, and SK Hynix’s American depositary receipts also rose in premarket trading on Thursday. In contrast, Micron shares fell slightly.
Micron investors might wonder why the company has not done the same. The reason is that federal Chips Act funding Micron received in 2024 comes with restrictions that currently stop it from making large share buybacks or paying special dividends.
These restrictions will end on December 9 this year, and Micron has said it plans to boost returns to shareholders once they do. UBS estimates Micron could make about $380 billion in free cash flow in 2027 and 2028, and says most of that could go to share buybacks. As of Wednesday’s close, Micron’s market value was just over $1 trillion.
Micron shareholders may have to wait longer for big returns compared to other companies in the region, but the eventual payoff could be significant once the restrictions are lifted.
