Samsung Electronics shares fell by as much as 6.6%, shareholder return plan postponed to the end of January.

Due to the lack of new shareholder return plans in its earnings report, Samsung Electronics saw its share price give back earlier gains and drop as much as 6.6%. Samsung Electronics stated that the plan will be announced at the end of January. This stands in sharp contrast to SK Hynix, which not only reported stellar earnings on Wednesday but also said it plans to return about $45 billion in extra funds to shareholders. In addition, Samsung's chip business profits fell short of expectations, and the increased capital expenditures have further dampened market sentiment toward the company. eToro analyst Josh Gilbert noted that making the market wait until January to see the complete return plan leaves a gap where there should have been good news. Samsung also raised its capital expenditures by about 60% this year, so until it clearly explains how this windfall will be allocated between new capacity and shareholders, it remains a real question how much money will actually make its way back to investors. Rob Li, managing partner at Amont Partners, commented that postponing the details of shareholder returns to January is disappointing, as it gives equity traders an excuse to rotate funds to SK Hynix or Micron over the coming months, since the other two companies have a clearer path for shareholder returns.