Samsung Electronics Leads Global DRAM Market, SK Hynix Dominates HBM Sector

 
Samsung Electronics solidified its position as the leader in the global DRAM market in the first quarter of this year, widening its market share gap over SK Hynix and demonstrating its competitiveness in the general memory sector.

In contrast, SK Hynix maintained its dominance in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a key component for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, holding over half of the market share.

According to Counterpoint Research on June 25, Samsung Electronics captured 38% of the global DRAM market share by revenue in the first quarter, followed by SK Hynix at 29% and Micron at 22%. Since reclaiming the top spot in the fourth quarter of last year, Samsung has maintained its lead, increasing the gap with SK Hynix to 9 percentage points.

The competitive landscape between the two companies has become more pronounced compared to last year. In the first and second quarters of last year, SK Hynix held the top position, but after a tie at 33% in the third quarter, Samsung regained its advantage in the fourth quarter.

Notably, China's Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) has increased its market share from 3% last year to 8% this year, intensifying the competition.

The overall DRAM market has experienced rapid growth, driven by increased investments in AI servers. The market size in the first quarter surged by 80% compared to the previous quarter and by 260% year-over-year.

In the HBM market, SK Hynix continued its strong performance, holding a 58% share by revenue in the first quarter. Both Samsung Electronics and Micron shared the second position with 21% each. Although SK Hynix's share decreased from 69% in the first quarter of last year, it still maintained a significant lead.

Looking ahead, there are expectations for a potential counterattack from Samsung Electronics. The company is set to supply the next-generation HBM4 to NVIDIA for the first time, which is anticipated to boost its market share in the HBM sector starting in the second half of the year.

Counterpoint Research stated, "While Samsung ranks third, it is expected to increase its share by being the first to supply HBM4 to NVIDIA. Most of the HBM revenue comes from HBM3E, and deliveries of HBM4 are expected to materialize in the second half of the year."

In the NAND flash market, Samsung Electronics led with a 29% share, followed by SK Hynix at 18%, Kioxia at 14%, and Micron, SanDisk, and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) each holding 13%. Notably, YMTC has expanded its market share from 8% last year to 13% this year, bolstered by a shortage in memory supply and rising prices.