On August 24, 2026, Samsung Electronics witnessed a sharp decline of over 7% in its stock price, as its freshly unveiled shareholder return plan, centered around dividends, failed to meet investors' expectations. The tech giant has earmarked up to 110 trillion won for distribution to investors this year, with 30 trillion won earmarked for cash dividends in the third quarter. The remaining details of the distribution plan are set to be ironed out at the board meeting scheduled for January next year.

Jay Kwon, an analyst at JPMorgan, highlighted that the plan lacked any elements that could have sparked positive surprises among investors. The market's disappointment can be attributed to several factors: the third-quarter dividend commitment fell short of what was anticipated; there was no announcement regarding share buybacks, a move often favored by investors to boost stock value; and the shareholder return ratio remained stagnant at 50% of the cumulative free cash flow, showing no signs of increase or improvement.