Samsung's board approved buying ₩15.0tn (~$10.7bn at an approximate ₩1,400/$) of its own common shares — about 53,285,968 shares, or 0.91% of the 5,846,278,608 outstanding and 1.0% of market value. Buying runs 24 August to 21 November 2026 on the open market through Samsung Securities, Shinhan and KB, capped at 7,321,653 shares a day.

The stated purpose is employee stock compensation. That matters: these shares are earmarked to be handed to staff, not retired, so they do not permanently reduce the share count. The same filing's treasury table shows what did — 73,359,314 shares cancelled since the start of the year, 1.25% of shares outstanding. Treasury holdings before this decision were 79,870,794 common shares, 1.4%.

Uncertain: the share count is sized on the 21 August close of ₩281,500, and the filing says the actual number bought will move with the price because the won amount is what is fixed. The filing does not say when, or on what vesting terms, the shares reach employees.