Samsung retakes lead in global DRAM sales market

Samsung Electronics reclaimed the top spot in the global DRAM market by revenue in the third quarter, according to a report.

ChinaFlashMarket, or CFM, said on Nov. 19 that Samsung captured a 34.8 percent share of the third-quarter DRAM market, narrowly surpassing SK hynix, which held 34.4 percent. Micron ranked third with 22.4 percent. In the second quarter, SK hynix led with 38.2 percent and Samsung had 33.5 percent, making the shift in ranking a turnaround in just one quarter. The change reflected Samsung’s higher DRAM revenue growth of 29.6 percent compared with SK hynix’s 12.4 percent.

CFM noted that Samsung’s shipments of high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, rose 85 percent from the previous quarter, and prices for general-purpose DRAM increased, pushing overall DRAM revenue to a record high. In the current general-purpose DRAM market, supply is constrained as memory manufacturers expand HBM-focused production while demand from artificial intelligence applications has surged. Samsung, which had previously faced challenges in HBM, has also been increasing deliveries to customers such as Nvidia since the second half of this year.

CFM added that memory supply is tight across all sectors and inventories continue to decline. The firm forecast that the memory market is likely to reach a new peak in the fourth quarter.


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