Samsung Reclaims Global #1 in DRAM with 39% Q2 Market Share
Claire Weston
Samsung Electronics recaptured the global DRAM crown with a 39% market share in Q2, ending roughly a year of trailing SK Hynix; driven by a pricing upcycle and HBM expansion, Micron closed to 25% — just one point behind SK Hynix's 26% — narrowing the top-three gap to its smallest in years.
What drove Samsung's comeback?
Two forces hit at once: commodity DRAM prices rose sharply in Q2, while Samsung kept gaining share in HBM — high-bandwidth memory built for AI chips.
Counterpoint researcher Choi Jung-gu said Samsung's rebound "reversed all previous setbacks."
This means → Samsung did not win on a single product line; it rode commodity pricing power and high-end volume growth simultaneously.
SK Hynix posted record revenue — so why did its share drop?
SK Hynix's Q2 DRAM revenue surged 214% year-on-year, a record on both a sequential and annual basis — yet its share fell from 39% to 26%.
In plain terms = SK Hynix did not shrink; Samsung and Micron simply grew faster and took a larger slice of the pie.
A structural factor matters more: SK Hynix led the HBM market earliest and ships the highest proportion, so falling HBM prices hit it hardest.
On top of that, SK Hynix locked in long-term agreements (LTAs) with customers early; in a rising-price cycle, those contract prices sat below spot, capping its upside.
How did Micron close in on second place?
Micron's DRAM revenue grew roughly fivefold year-on-year, lifting its share to 25% — just one percentage point behind SK Hynix.
This reflects Micron ramping in both AI-server memory and commodity DRAM, the fastest growth rate among the top three.
What is the next variable to watch?
Nvidia's Vera Rubin and AMD's Instinct MI455X GPU racks are shipping, and HBM4 — the fourth generation of high-bandwidth memory — is expected to ramp from Q3.
Counterpoint expects Q3 DRAM prices to rise further, with Samsung's profitability likely to keep improving.
This means → today's ranking is not locked in — HBM4 competitiveness, customer stickiness, and capacity positioning are the core variables that will decide the next reshuffle.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.