"Q1 NAND Sales Increase by 28%... Samsung and SK Market Share Slightly Rises"

Increase in Enterprise SSD Demand Due to AI Server Impact

In the first quarter, NAND flash market sales showed double-digit growth, with both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix increasing their market shares.

On the 29th, market research firm TrendForce reported that the NAND market sales in the first quarter reached $14.71 billion, a 28.1% increase from the previous quarter.

TrendForce explained, "From February, the adoption of enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs, large-capacity storage devices including NAND) in AI servers began, leading to large volume orders thereafter," and added, "PC and smartphone customers are increasing their inventory levels to manage price increases."

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the top two companies in the NAND market, both increased their NAND sales compared to the previous quarter, raising their market shares. Samsung Electronics recorded a market share of 36.7%, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous quarter, while SK Hynix's share rose by 0.6 percentage points to 22.2%.

From third place onwards, the rankings were Japan's Kioxia (12.4%), the United States' Micron (11.7%), and the United States' Western Digital (11.6%). Micron showed strong growth, with first-quarter sales increasing by 51.2% compared to the previous quarter, overtaking Western Digital to take fourth place.

Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus line view / Photo by Samsung Electronics

TrendForce expects the NAND market sales in the second quarter to increase by nearly 10% compared to the previous quarter. In Samsung Electronics' case, NAND sales could increase by more than 20% in the second quarter due to the effect of price increases. SK Hynix also forecasts about a 20% increase in NAND sales.