I can't read this paywalled article, so I'll comment on the title. Get serious. If Samsung had a bad quarter, would they reduce the pay of their employees?
When I started work at Apple in 1988, the company had a profit-sharing program for employees. Profit-sharing is a a one-time bonus for a good quarter, which makes a little more sense than a permanent pay bump. In the early 2000's, when asked about profit-sharing at a company meeting, Steve Jobs responded that employees should buy Apple stock instead. AAPL was very cheap at the time. (The rest is history.)
