The global DRAM market has entered a supercycle, fueled by increased investments in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and rising memory prices. Samsung Electronics maintained its lead with a 38% market share, while SK hynix significantly boosted its revenue in pursuit.
According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, global DRAM sales in the third quarter of this year surged 369% compared to the same period last year. Samsung held onto its top position with a 38% share, while SK hynix's revenue rose by over 40% from the previous quarter, allowing it to regain some market share. Meanwhile, China's CXMT saw its share decline from 10% to 9%.
This boom is primarily driven by price increases rather than shipment volumes. DRAM bit shipments grew by only about 4% from the previous quarter, but the average selling price (ASP) rose to $1.90 per gigabit.
As demand for high-performance memory for AI servers increases, suppliers are gaining more negotiating power. Notably, the price increases have also spread to general-purpose DRAM, marking a key characteristic of this boom.
By product, sales of DDR and LPDDR increased by approximately 500% and 400%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) sales nearly doubled, but the growth rate of general-purpose DRAM outpaced HBM, resulting in a reduced share of HBM in overall sales.
In the HBM market, competition surrounding the next-generation HBM4 is intensifying. Counterpoint Research indicated that Samsung could reclaim the top position in the HBM market next year, supported by an expansion in HBM4 supply.
Minseong Hwang, a research director at Counterpoint Research, stated, "As new large semiconductor factories will not begin operations until 2028, memory supply shortages are expected to continue," predicting that price strength will persist into next year.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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