Samsung Electronics said Thursday it expects capital expenditure of 84.4 trillion won, about $63 billion, for 2026 after telling investors that high-bandwidth memory supply for 2027 is sold out^1,2,4.

The forecast, given on the company's third-quarter earnings call in Seoul, is 31.7 trillion won higher than a year earlier, The Asia Business Daily reported, citing executives, with 76.8 trillion won earmarked for the Device Solutions chip unit and about 3.9 trillion won for displays².

Techmeme summarized Bloomberg as saying the outlay is about 60% higher than last year¹. Moneycontrol's Bloomberg report used the same 84.4 trillion won, or $63 billion, figure⁴.

Samsung said HBM4 revenue more than tripled from the prior quarter and rose to about 60% of its HBM sales, and that it reached an HBM market-share goal matching its overall DRAM share in the second half of the year, according to The Asia Business Daily².

Negotiations for 2027 HBM volumes were completed at prices in line with the company's target and that supply is sold out, Samsung said, while major customers still want more chips². It said it has signed memory long-term agreements with 10 large customers and is talking with 10 others^2,1.

Company slides showed consolidated third-quarter sales of 195.3 trillion won and operating profit of 107.4 trillion won, with Device Solutions sales of 147.1 trillion won and operating profit of 106.5 trillion won³.

Bloomberg, via Moneycontrol, said semiconductor operating income was about 2% shy of estimates and that Samsung withheld a detailed future payout plan until January, with the stock about 5% lower in Seoul⁴. SK Hynix said its HBM was sold out through 2029, while Samsung said its HBM was sold out only through 2027, that account said⁴.

Samsung's slides said a 30 trillion won third-quarter cash dividend is planned and that of an estimated 90 trillion to 110 trillion won in 2026 shareholder returns, about 35 trillion won is already planned or completed, leaving 55 trillion to 75 trillion won, with a substantial share repurchase and cancellation program plus cash dividends still to come³. The next return policy and remaining 2026 execution plans are due after a board meeting in late January 2027^2,3.

Josh Gilbert of eToro, quoted by Bloomberg via Moneycontrol, said the capex lift leaves a question over how much of the windfall returns to investors until January⁴. Samsung said it expects the semiconductor industry to stay strong in 2027 on AI investment and supply constraints^2,3.