Q4 Last Year DRAM Market Sales Increased by 29.6%

Sales Increase Notable Compared to Previous Quarter
Samsung Electronics Recovers 40% Market Share

The global DRAM market revenue in the fourth quarter of last year reached $17.464 billion, marking a 29.6% increase compared to the previous quarter.

On the 5th, market research firm TrendForce stated, "This is thanks to major manufacturers' efforts to stockpile inventory along with strategic production adjustments (cutbacks)."

Samsung Electronics held the largest share of the DRAM market in the fourth quarter of last year. The company recorded sales of $7.95 billion, a 51.4% increase from the previous quarter, capturing a 45.5% market share. Although it had raised market concerns by recording a 38.9% share in the previous quarter, it quickly recovered. TrendForce analyzed that this was due to a sharp increase in shipments of high-value-added DRAM, specifically Double Data Rate (DDR) 5, as well as a rapid rise in server DRAM shipments.

SK Hynix ranked second with a 31.8% market share. The company posted sales of $5.56 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, up 20.2% from the previous quarter. The average selling price (ASP) rose 17-19% quarter-over-quarter due to the price advantage of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), DDR5, and server DRAM modules, which also boosted sales. However, SK Hynix's market share slightly declined from 34.3% in the previous quarter due to Samsung Electronics' outstanding performance.

As a result, the gap between Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix widened from 4.6 percentage points in the third quarter of last year to 13.7 percentage points in the fourth quarter.

Market share and sales revenue by company in the DRAM market for Q3 and Q4 of last year /
[Image source=TrendForce]

TrendForce explained, "Samsung Electronics will continue to expand its production capacity through the fourth quarter," adding, "SK Hynix is actively expanding its HBM production capacity and has started mass production of HBM3E (the 5th generation HBM product), gradually increasing its operating rate." SK Hynix began initial mass production of HBM3E in January.

U.S.-based Micron ranked third with a 19.2% market share. Although it recorded sales of $3.35 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, an 8.9% increase from the previous quarter, its market share declined from 22.8% in the previous quarter.

The DRAM market in the first quarter is expected to experience a seasonal downturn, with product shipments decreasing compared to the previous quarter. However, TrendForce explained that DRAM prices are expected to rise as manufacturers continue efforts to improve profitability.