Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. together paid 11.2 trillion won ($8.1 billion) in corporate taxes in the first half of 2026, financial filings showed on 30 August, reflecting the scale of profits generated during the ongoing semiconductor supercycle. The combined figure marks the second-highest first-half total on record for the two South Korean chipmakers.

Tax Breakdown by Company

Samsung Electronics paid 3.99 trillion won in corporate taxes during the period, while SK hynix paid a larger 7.22 trillion won, according to data from the Repository of Korea's Corporate Filings, operated by the Financial Supervisory Service. The combined outgo represents a 167 percent jump from the same period a year earlier.

The only higher first-half reading on record was the 15.63 trillion won the two companies paid in the first half of 2019, off the back of record-high profits during the memory chip boom of 2018.

Profit Surge Driving the Numbers

The tax surge is a direct consequence of a dramatic earnings recovery. Samsung Electronics posted first-half operating profit of 146.7 trillion won in 2026, against just 11.4 trillion won in the prior-year period. SK hynix reported first-half operating profit of 98.2 trillion won, up from 16.7 trillion won a year ago.

Market watchers expect corporate tax payments from both companies to climb further. Analysts forecast annual operating profits of 385 trillion won for Samsung and 266 trillion won for SK hynix in full-year 2026. Under South Korea's corporate tax schedule, companies pay taxes in March for the previous fiscal year and in August for interim first-half profits.

Samsung's Record Shareholder Return in Focus

Separately, Samsung Electronics is poised to return at least 100 trillion won ($72.4 billion) to shareholders, according to industry sources, following a similar commitment by rival SK hynix. The announcement could come at a board meeting as early as this week.

The move would mark the final year of Samsung's three-year shareholder-return policy for 2024–26, which commits to returning 50 percent of its free cash flow to shareholders. Industry observers expect the payout to include a special dividend, based on an estimated annual operating profit of 390 trillion won. The company may also buy back shares to fund special performance bonuses for employees.

AI Boom Sustains the Semiconductor Supercycle

The outsized profits and tax contributions reflect surging global demand for high-bandwidth memory and advanced logic chips, fuelled largely by the artificial intelligence buildout. This comes amid a broader recognition that South Korea's two flagship chipmakers have emerged as critical infrastructure suppliers for the AI era. Notably, SK hynix has been a primary supplier of HBM chips to Nvidia, giving it an early-mover advantage in the AI memory segment that is now showing up clearly in its financials.

With full-year earnings projections still rising, the second-half tax contributions from both companies are expected to push the annual total well beyond recent precedents.