CXMT's DRAM Market Share Rises to 9.5% as Samsung and SK Hynix Shift Capacity to HBM
nashnova research
CXMT's global DRAM revenue share jumped from 7.6% to 9.5% in one quarter, lifting it to fourth place worldwide; Samsung and SK Hynix's aggressive pivot to HBM is opening the very space this Chinese chipmaker is filling.
How did CXMT's share climb so fast?
Per market research data cited by Chosun Biz, CXMT's global DRAM revenue share rose from 7.6% in Q1 2026 to 9.5% in Q2, ranking fourth behind Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron.
This means → CXMT gained nearly 2 percentage points in a single quarter — an unusually rapid pace for the DRAM industry.
The main driver is not a sudden leap in CXMT's own capability. It is that rivals are voluntarily ceding ground — Samsung and SK Hynix are shifting rising shares of capacity to HBM (high-bandwidth memory — multiple DRAM chips stacked vertically into a single high-end package).
Why does the HBM shift drain conventional DRAM supply?
Each HBM unit stacks multiple DRAM dies, consuming roughly four times the effective wafer capacity of a conventional DRAM chip. In plain terms = the same production line yields only a quarter as many saleable units when making HBM.
KB Securities data: HBM's share of Samsung's total DRAM capacity is projected to rise from 27% in 2025 to 33% in 2026 and 40% in 2027; conventional DRAM's share drops from 73% to 59%.
Samsung said on its Q2 earnings call that Q3 HBM4 revenue is expected to more than triple quarter-on-quarter, with HBM4 accounting for over 60% of total HBM revenue in H2.
This reflects a clear strategic tilt: Samsung now treats HBM as the priority, not conventional DRAM.
How tight has the market become?
Samsung's lead time for high-capacity server DDR5 stretched to as long as 52 weeks in September — versus roughly six weeks under normal conditions, a nearly ninefold increase.
DRAM inventories have reportedly fallen below 10 days, near historic lows.
Conventional DRAM prices are expected to post double-digit gains in both Q3 and Q4.
This means → downstream buyers face longer waits and higher costs, exactly the environment in which CXMT — with available supply — gains leverage.
CXMT pushed back on Apple's pricing demands?
Digital Daily reported in August that CXMT rejected Apple's request for a discount on LPDDR5X mobile DRAM, quoting prices on par with or above Samsung and SK Hynix.
Long-term orders from Huawei, Xiaomi, and other Chinese customers reduced CXMT's incentive to offer Apple concessions. The negotiation details have not been publicly confirmed by either company.
In plain terms = Chinese component suppliers have historically competed on low price. CXMT is now doing the opposite — supply scarcity is leverage, and it no longer needs to undercut to win orders.
Can CXMT's own technology and capacity keep up?
On September 20, CXMT announced mass production of its fifth-generation DRAM platform, which yields at least 50% more good dies per wafer than the fourth generation; two 24Gb LPDDR5X products entered production simultaneously.
Capacity roadmap: current monthly output is roughly 300,000 wafers, projected to reach 360,000–380,000 by end-2027 and potentially 500,000 by 2028.
This means → the share gain is not purely opportunistic. CXMT is advancing on both process technology and capacity ramp in parallel.
Can this trajectory last?
CXMT plans to allocate roughly 10% of total capacity to HBM by end-2027.
This reflects CXMT's own ambition in the high-margin HBM segment — but the moment it commits capacity to HBM, it faces the same trade-off as Samsung and SK Hynix: wafers devoted to HBM cannot simultaneously support conventional DRAM growth.
In plain terms = the market condition driving CXMT's rapid expansion today — rivals shifting to HBM and leaving space — could eventually constrain CXMT itself once it makes the same pivot.
市场有风险，内容仅供研究参考，不构成投资建议。