Samsung, SK Hynix face pressure to share AI boom profits

When your quarterly profits are so large they need a new column on the spreadsheet, people start showing up at your door. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are learning that lesson in real time as their AI-fueled earnings attract attention from shareholders, governments, and workers alike, all making the same basic argument: share the wealth. The combined operating profit for both companies hit 150 trillion won, roughly $104 billion, in Q2 2026 alone. SK Hynix is on pace to earn more profit this year than it generated in the previous 27 years combined. The scramble for a slice During trade negotiations in June 2026, US officials led by Deputy USTR Rick Switzer floated a profit-sharing model. The logic, at least from Washington’s perspective, is straightforward: American tech giants are the ones buying these chips by the truckload, powering the AI infrastructure buildout that made this bonanza possible in the first place. Back home in South Korea, Samsung’s retail shareholder group ACT has been campaigning for a proposed $32 billion buyback. SK Hynix, meanwhile, has already formalized a profit-sharing bonus pegged at 10% of annual operating profit with no cap, effective since 2025. T...