Samsung shares surge after company announces $7.2 billion share buyback

Shares of Samsung Electronics Co. surged after the company announced a surprise plan to buy back $7.2 billion worth of shares over the next year.

The first phase of the plan, unveiled Friday, involves buying back 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) worth of shares by February 2025, with all the shares purchased canceled.

Samsung had launched share buyback programs worth 9.3 trillion won in 2017 and 11.3 trillion won in 2015.