[SK Hynix to Release Earnings Tonight, Rumors of Up to 60 Trillion Won in Shareholder Returns Draw Attention] BlockBeats reports that SK Hynix will release its Q3 2026 earnings report after the US stock market closes on Tuesday, October 27th, and will simultaneously disclose a new shareholder return plan. Market focus will be on not only high-bandwidth memory (HBM) demand and profitability, but also whether the company will offer a large-scale special dividend. Samsung Electronics, Kioxia, and other memory chip manufacturers will also release their earnings reports soon. Demand for AI infrastructure continues to drive the memory chip market. KB Securities analysts estimate that over 70% of the memory chips that South Korea's two major memory chip manufacturers plan to produce next year are already covered by five-year supply agreements signed with large technology companies. However, as the market begins to worry about the return on AI capital expenditures and financing costs, investors are paying closer attention to order quality, future demand sustainability, and the pace of capacity expansion. Regarding shareholder returns, South Korean media previously reported that SK Hynix was considering distributing a special dividend of approximately 16 trillion won (about US$12 billion); other reports indicated that the new shareholder returns could reach as high as 60 trillion won (about US$45 billion). Neither of these amounts has been officially confirmed by the company. Previously, SK Hynix announced the repurchase and cancellation of 40 trillion won worth of treasury shares and planned to allocate more than 50% of its free cash flow from 2025 to 2027 to shareholder returns. This financial report and future demand guidance will be crucial for the market to judge whether the AI memory chip supercycle can continue. [Original Link]