Samsung Electronics' Q3 dividend jumps 12-fold to $22.5 bil.

Samsung Electronics will pay out 30 trillion won ($22.5 billion) in dividends for the third quarter, increasing its dividend per share more than 12-fold in a move to address the mismatch between its sluggish share price and record-breaking earnings performance.

During a board meeting on Thursday, Samsung Electronics approved a quarterly dividend of 4,601 won per share for both common and preferred shares, more than 12 times its quarterly payout of around 370 won per share in the first and second quarters. The dividend will be paid on Nov. 27.

"We are aware of market interest in the price gap between its common and preferred shares, and will actively consider adjusting the proportion of preferred shares in its buyback and cancellation programs based on market conditions," Samsung said.

The company said that of its planned 90 trillion won to 110 trillion won in shareholder returns for 2026, between 55 trillion won and 75 trillion won has yet to be distributed or committed. It plans to return the remaining amount through cash dividends and substantial share buybacks and cancellations.

The plan came as Samsung Electronics shares have remained sluggish despite the company posting record-breaking earnings repeatedly, becoming the world's first tech company to surpass 100 trillion won in quarterly operating profit in the third quarter.

During its earnings call on Thursday, the company reported its revenue and operating profit for the July-September period stood at 195.25 trillion won and 107.44 trillion won, up 126.9 percent and 783.1 percent year-on-year, respectively.

The chipmaking Device Solutions (DS) division accounted for most of the profit, logging 147.1 trillion won in sales and 106.5 trillion won in operating profit.

The memory business significantly expanded sales of high bandwidth memory 4 (HBM4) in response to growing artificial intelligence demand and as well as addressing rising demand for server solid-state drives.

The chip designing System LSI business posted quarterly revenue growth as its systems-on-chip (SoC) and image sensors were adopted in new product models in the second half of the year. It also made progress in its custom SoC business by establishing partnerships with new customers.

The foundry business saw a significant improvement in earnings, driven by growing sales of HBM base dies and increased sales of advanced process technologies to global customers. It also continued securing orders from customers developing 2-nanometer high-performance computing chips.

On the other hand, the Device Experience (DX) division, which handles smartphones and home appliances, posted 52.1 trillion won in sales and an operating loss of 800 billion won, as rising memory chip prices weighed on its profitability.

Samsung Electronics plans to spend 84.4 trillion won on capital expenditures in 2026, including 76.8 trillion won for the DS division.