SEOUL, September 4 (AJP) - South Korea's two major chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix retained the top two spots in the global NAND flash market in the second quarter, together accounting for nearly half of global sales, according to a report by market researcher Counterpoint Research released on Friday.
Samsung led the market with 28 percent, down slightly from 29 percent in the previous quarter, while SK hynix ranked second with 19 percent, giving the two South Korean chipmakers a combined 47 percent of global NAND revenue.
Their solid market standing came as NAND flash prices jumped 55 percent from the previous quarter, driven by stronger demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-related infrastructure and storage facilities, pushing global NAND market revenue up 70 percent over the same period. The market already saw a sharp recovery in the first quarter, when revenue increased 90 percent from the previous quarter, marking two consecutive quarters of growth.
NAND has historically faced greater oversupply than DRAM, putting pressure on prices and profitability. But things changed as rising investment in AI data centers drives demand for high-capacity storage products, particularly enterprise solid-state drives (eSSDs).
The recovery is expected to benefit Samsung and SK hynix, given their large market shares, since price changes directly affect their revenue and profitability.
Both companies are also focusing more on higher-value eSSDs to meet growing demand from data centers handling increasingly heavy AI workloads. This could further boost their revenue as AI infrastructure requires massive amounts of data to be stored and processed.
But market competition is intensifying, with Micron Technology increasing its market share to 15 percent from 13 percent in the first quarter, while China's Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) quickly gained ground, raising its share to 14 percent, just behind Micron.
AJP Takeaways
- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix retained the top two positions in the global NAND flash market in the second quarter, with market shares of 28 percent and 19 percent, respectively, giving the two South Korean chipmakers a combined 47 percent of global NAND revenue, according to Counterpoint Research.
- AI infrastructure demand is driving a strong recovery in the NAND market. NAND flash prices rose 55 percent quarter-on-quarter, while global NAND market revenue increased 70 percent in the second quarter, following a 90 percent revenue increase in the first quarter.
- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are positioned to benefit from rising demand for enterprise SSDs (eSSDs), but competition is intensifying. Micron Technology increased its market share to 15 percent, while China's Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) reached 14 percent, narrowing the gap with the leading South Korean chipmakers.
Samsung led the market with 28 percent, down slightly from 29 percent in the previous quarter, while SK hynix ranked second with 19 percent, giving the two South Korean chipmakers a combined 47 percent of global NAND revenue.
Their solid market standing came as NAND flash prices jumped 55 percent from the previous quarter, driven by stronger demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-related infrastructure and storage facilities, pushing global NAND market revenue up 70 percent over the same period. The market already saw a sharp recovery in the first quarter, when revenue increased 90 percent from the previous quarter, marking two consecutive quarters of growth.
NAND has historically faced greater oversupply than DRAM, putting pressure on prices and profitability. But things changed as rising investment in AI data centers drives demand for high-capacity storage products, particularly enterprise solid-state drives (eSSDs).
The recovery is expected to benefit Samsung and SK hynix, given their large market shares, since price changes directly affect their revenue and profitability.
Both companies are also focusing more on higher-value eSSDs to meet growing demand from data centers handling increasingly heavy AI workloads. This could further boost their revenue as AI infrastructure requires massive amounts of data to be stored and processed.
But market competition is intensifying, with Micron Technology increasing its market share to 15 percent from 13 percent in the first quarter, while China's Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) quickly gained ground, raising its share to 14 percent, just behind Micron.
AJP Takeaways
- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix retained the top two positions in the global NAND flash market in the second quarter, with market shares of 28 percent and 19 percent, respectively, giving the two South Korean chipmakers a combined 47 percent of global NAND revenue, according to Counterpoint Research.
- AI infrastructure demand is driving a strong recovery in the NAND market. NAND flash prices rose 55 percent quarter-on-quarter, while global NAND market revenue increased 70 percent in the second quarter, following a 90 percent revenue increase in the first quarter.
- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are positioned to benefit from rising demand for enterprise SSDs (eSSDs), but competition is intensifying. Micron Technology increased its market share to 15 percent, while China's Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) reached 14 percent, narrowing the gap with the leading South Korean chipmakers.
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