"HBM Leader" SK Hynix Overtakes Samsung for First-Ever No. 1 DRAM Market Share in Q1

Market Research Firm "TrendForce" Reports
SK Hynix 36%, Samsung Electronics 33.7%

SK Hynix, which has secured a leading position in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, overtook Samsung Electronics to become the world's top DRAM supplier in the first quarter of this year.

View of SK Hynix Headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province Photo by Yonhap News

According to market research firm TrendForce on June 4, SK Hynix recorded DRAM sales of $9.72 billion in the first quarter of this year, down 7.1% from the previous quarter due to a decrease in DRAM shipments. However, SK Hynix ranked first in the DRAM market for the first time on a quarterly basis. The shipment volume of HBM3E, a high value-added product, appears to have propelled SK Hynix to the top spot.

SK Hynix's market share also saw a slight decline from 36.6% in the fourth quarter of last year to 36% in the first quarter. However, Samsung Electronics' market share dropped more sharply from 39.3% to 33.7%, allowing SK Hynix to surpass it. This is the first time SK Hynix has outperformed Samsung Electronics in DRAM market share. In the first quarter of last year, Samsung Electronics held a 43.9% share while SK Hynix had 31.1%, a gap of more than 10 percentage points. In a separate tally by market research firm Counterpoint Research, SK Hynix also led the global DRAM market in the first quarter of this year with a 36% share compared to Samsung Electronics' 34%.

Samsung Electronics fell to second place, with sales dropping 19.1% from the previous quarter to $9.1 billion. TrendForce attributed this to the inability to sell HBM directly to China and a decline in shipments of the high-priced HBM3E after product redesign.

Meanwhile, total global DRAM industry sales in the first quarter of this year amounted to $27.01 billion (approximately 37 trillion won), down 5.5% from the previous quarter. TrendForce predicted that in the upcoming second quarter, PC and smartphone manufacturers will complete inventory adjustments in line with the 90-day US reciprocal tariff grace period, increase production, and significantly boost DRAM suppliers' shipment volumes.