Samsung Electronics' buyback of KRW 15 trillion worth of treasury shares (its own shares that a company buys and holds), 2 million shares a day since Aug. 24 (1.8 million on the first day), is due to end with a final order on Oct. 6. It had spent KRW 14.7077 trillion through Oct. 2, leaving about KRW 300 billion, or roughly 1.1 million shares. That date is calculated from the money left; a filing confirming completion has not yet been seen. It is 46 days ahead of the Nov. 21 end date in Samsung's filing.
The common reading goes like this: if third-quarter preliminary results (figures released before the audit), due on Oct. 8, are strong, the stock will hold up. The consensus forecast for Samsung's Q3 operating profit (profit from its core business), compiled by NH Investment & Securities, is about KRW 109.5 trillion.
But the real issue is not earnings. It is who buys. Over the 27 trading days from Aug. 24, when the buyback began, to Oct. 1, foreign and individual investors together net sold (sold minus bought) KRW 14.639 trillion of Samsung shares. Over the same period the company bought KRW 14.1565 trillion of its own stock. Dividing the company's buying by those two groups' net selling gives about 97% (BITPRESS calculation). Trading by institutions and other investors is not included in this calculation.
- How fast did Samsung buy?
Samsung's board decided on Aug. 21 to buy back KRW 15 trillion of its shares. Divided by that day's closing price of KRW 281,500, the planned amount was 53,285,968 shares over 61 trading days from Aug. 24 to Nov. 21. Spread evenly, that would be about 870,000 shares, or about KRW 250 billion, a day.
In practice it bought 1.8 million shares on the first day and 2 million every day after. In money that is around KRW 500 billion a day, twice the even pace. By Oct. 2 it had bought 55.8 million shares, 104.72% of the planned number. The buyback is set by amount (KRW 15 trillion), not share count, and with the stock trading below the KRW 281,500 reference price, the same money bought more shares.
Here is how the numbers fit: KRW 15 trillion is the total cap, KRW 14.1565 trillion is what it bought through Oct. 1, and KRW 14.7077 trillion is the total through Oct. 2. The roughly KRW 300 billion left is KRW 15 trillion minus the Oct. 2 total. At a share price around KRW 270,000, 2 million shares come to more than KRW 500 billion a day (BITPRESS calculation), so the money left is less than one day's buying. That is why a single day, Oct. 6, should finish it.
- Who took the shares that foreigners and individuals sold?
Korea Exchange data show that from Aug. 24 to Oct. 1, foreign investors net sold KRW 7.6141 trillion of Samsung stock and individuals KRW 7.0249 trillion. Over the same period, the company's buybacks came to KRW 14.1565 trillion according to its buyback filings. The company's buying absorbed most of that selling.
How the share price looks depends on the starting point. On Aug. 24, the first day of the buyback, it plunged 8.70% to KRW 257,000, and on Oct. 1 it closed at KRW 276,000. That is about 7.4% above the price on the day of the plunge (BITPRESS calculation), but about 2% below KRW 281,500, the Aug. 21 close just before the buyback.
It was like having a regular customer who puts in an order for 2 million shares every day. But once the set amount is spent, the visits stop. Analysts also said the buyback did less to lift the price than to put a floor under it by absorbing sell orders.
- Why isn't this KRW 15 trillion for shareholders?
The purpose Samsung disclosed in its filing (an official notice to investors) is stock compensation for employees: it bought the shares for performance incentives and special performance incentives tied to 2026 results. How many shares will actually be handed out, and when, has not been set.
Retiring treasury shares (canceling them for good) reduces the share count, so each remaining share's slice grows. Shares handed to employees, by contrast, can come back to the market and be sold. In May, management and the union at the DS division, which runs Samsung's chip business, agreed to pay the special bonus entirely in treasury shares on an after-tax basis (the amount left after income tax and other deductions), but the criteria for each employee have not been finalized.
The reaction on announcement day was lukewarm, too. On Aug. 21 Samsung announced shareholder returns (giving profits back to shareholders through dividends, share retirement and the like) of up to KRW 110 trillion, but details for KRW 60 trillion to 80 trillion of it will be set at a board meeting next January. In after-hours trading that day, the stock slipped into the KRW 270,000 range. SK hynix (Korea's other chip giant alongside Samsung), by contrast, announced it would buy back KRW 40 trillion of its shares and retire them.
- Who fills the KRW 500 billion daily gap?
If the buyback ends on Oct. 6 as planned, a fixed buy order of around KRW 500 billion every trading day disappears. SK hynix had also bought 78.31% of its 24.07 million registered shares by Oct. 2, and at the current pace it is expected to finish as soon as mid-October.
The two companies' buying was large for the whole market, too. In the week of Sept. 28-Oct. 2, as foreigners net sold KRW 8.3234 trillion on the KOSPI (Korea's main stock market), "other corporations" (non-financial companies) bought KRW 7.3845 trillion. Analysts estimate that buying came from the two companies' buybacks.
Who will fill the gap is not settled. Across the whole KOSPI, foreigners net bought KRW 243 billion on Oct. 1 and net sold KRW 190 billion on Oct. 2.
- Will strong earnings solve it?
What analysts are counting on is the Oct. 8 results. The Q3 operating profit forecast of about KRW 109.5 trillion has fallen about KRW 3.6 trillion from its early-September peak because of a stronger won, but the Q4 forecast is around KRW 120.8 trillion. The view is that if results confirm the chip upturn, foreign investors could return.
There is a counterargument. A Samsung Securities analyst said the end of the buyback is "already a known factor" and that investors worried about a supply gap are likely to sell before it ends. If worries about slowing profits are resolved, the stock could even stabilize after the buyback ends, he said.
- BITPRESS Insight
Since Aug. 24, the company has taken most of the Samsung shares that foreign and retail investors sold. Its buying equaled about 97% of the KRW 14.639 trillion the two groups net sold, and those orders are due to end on Oct. 6.
The more than 55.8 million shares the company bought do not disappear. Because they were bought for employee pay, once handed out they remain shares that could be sold again.
The rule of thumb is simple. For a stock whose buyback has ended, what matters more than how much it rose during the buyback is who steps in to buy the shares others sell once the company's orders are gone.
Sources
https://www.sisajournal-e.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=424091
https://www.fnnews.com/news/202610011812596636
https://www.etoday.co.kr/news/view/2632278
https://mt.co.kr/stock/2026/10/05/2026100510313464479
https://m.sedaily.com/article/20098090
https://www.the-tech.co.kr/news/article.html?no=41984
https://www.startuptoday.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=814878
https://www.hankyung.com/article/2026082156601
Glossary
Treasury shares — Shares a company buys back on the market and holds; it can retire them or use them for things like employee pay.
Retirement — Retiring (canceling) shares a company has bought back, which reduces the total share count so each remaining share's slice grows.
Net selling — The amount sold minus the amount bought over a period; it means sellers outweighed buyers.
Other corporations — A Korea Exchange investor category for non-financial companies; a company's purchases of its own shares show up here.
After-tax amount — What is actually received after income tax and other taxes are deducted.
BITPRESS articles are information to help your investment decisions, not a recommendation to buy or sell any stock or coin. Investment decisions and their results are your own responsibility.
