Mengapa keuntungan rekod AI Samsung dan SK Hynix masih tidak memuaskan pelabur

Samsung Electronics dan SK Hynix berdepan tekanan semakin meningkat daripada pemegang saham untuk meningkatkan dividen dan pembelian balik saham selepas kedua-dua syarikat mencatat keuntungan rekod yang didorong oleh permintaan terhadap kecerdasan buatan (AI), tetapi berhenti sebelum mengumumkan rancangan pemulangan modal yang bermakna.

Kedua-dua pengeluar cip memori Korea Selatan itu menjana tunai pada kadar yang belum pernah berlaku sebelum ini apabila permintaan untuk high-bandwidth memory (HBM) dan cip lain yang fokus kepada AI terus meningkat.

Namun, keengganan mereka untuk komited terhadap pembayaran kepada pemegang saham yang lebih besar menimbulkan persoalan dalam kalangan pelabur sama ada pengurusan masih yakin sepenuhnya dengan ketahanan lonjakan pendapatan yang dipacu AI.

Perhatian pelabur juga meningkat susulan kejatuhan tajam dalam harga saham kedua-dua syarikat daripada paras rekod mereka pada June.

Saham SK Hynix telah retreat sekitar 48%, manakala Samsung Electronics telah fallen about 37% from their record highs in June, memperkuat seruan untuk langkah-langkah yang lebih mesra pemegang saham.

Pelabur runcit dan pengurus dana menuntut tindakan

South Korean retail shareholder platform ACT on Tuesday launched a campaign seeking an extraordinary shareholders' meeting at Samsung Electronics, calling on the company to repurchase roughly $32 billion worth of shares while also imposing limits on executive performance bonuses.

“This is not simply an expression of dissatisfaction over a falling share price. We are asking a basic capital-market question: who really owns a corporation?” ACT said in a statement reported by Reuters, adding that the initiative is intended to help Samsung become a more shareholder-friendly company.

“Pemegang saham runcit ibarat kelab peminat syarikat: mereka memuji apabila ia berprestasi baik dan menghukum apabila tidak.”

Sementara itu, sesetengah pelabur menggesa SK Hynix meningkatkan pulangan kepada pemegang saham kepada sekurang-kurangnya 80% of free cash flow, jauh melebihi dasar semasanya.

SK Hynix's 25-day quiet period following its American depositary receipt sale in the United States ended on August 4, clearing the way for potential announcements on capital allocation that analysts and local media have been anticipating.

Simpanan tunai mengatasi rakan teknologi global

According to Reuters calculations using LSEG data, Samsung and SK Hynix are expected to hold a combined $263 billion in net cash by the end of this year.

That figure is more than double Nvidia's estimated $102 billion cash balance and exceeds the combined cash reserves of the remaining six members of the Magnificent Seven group of US technology companies.

Samsung's semiconductor division last week reported operating profit of 89.2 trillion won ($61.7 billion) for the second quarter, more than 250 times higher than the corresponding period a year earlier, reflecting the extraordinary demand for AI memory chips.

The company posted overall operating profit of 60.5 trillion won during the April-June quarter, up from 9.2 trillion won a year earlier, although slightly below analysts' estimates of 64 trillion won compiled by LSEG SmartEstimate.

SK Hynix has also accumulated record levels of cash.

The company said its net cash reached 88 trillion won at the end of June and aims to increase that figure to more than 100 trillion won to support customer demand and maintain business stability.

Pelabur mahukan isyarat keyakinan yang lebih kukuh

Many investors argue that retaining such large cash balances risks sending the wrong message to markets.

Any announcement outlining larger shareholder distributions would provide the "clearest signal" that management believes the AI boom has structural rather than cyclical characteristics, Templeton Global Investments portfolio manager Yiping Liao told Bloomberg.

"If you think there's less cyclicality, you don't need so much cash on your balance sheet," Liao said.

"And we know that they're going to earn a phenomenal amount of cash this year and next year."

Compared with international peers, Samsung and SK Hynix continue to lag in shareholder returns.

Both companies currently target shareholder distributions equivalent to about half of free cash flow, whereas US memory chipmaker Micron pledged in June to return 100% of free cash flow to shareholders.

"If you stick to something around a 50% free cash flow return, you are going to end up with an incredibly inefficient balance sheet," Richard Clode, portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors, whose fund owns SK Hynix shares, told Reuters.

"If you come out and say, 'Well, we're a bit unsure about the future, so we can't commit to a long term, big shareholder return program,' then you're just feeding the narrative that this is temporary, this is cyclical," he added.

Syarikat menjanjikan kemas kini lewat tahun ini

During last week's earnings call, SK Hynix said only that it was evaluating additional shareholder return measures and would announce details later this year, leaving investors wanting greater clarity.

JPMorgan analysts subsequently lowered their target price for SK Hynix shares, saying that a "clear stance on capital allocation is imperative ... to restore stock sentiment."

In comments provided to Reuters, SK Hynix said: "Based on record-high cash generation capabilities, the company believes that it can meaningfully expand shareholder returns while maintaining investments and financial soundness."

Samsung similarly indicated that discussions on its shareholder return policy are ongoing.

"While we remain focused on maintaining a healthy balance sheet to manage cyclical risks and fund growth initiatives, we are also exploring ways to enhance shareholder returns in a sustainable manner," the company told Reuters, adding that it aims to announce details "very soon."