SK Hynix Tops Memory Market Sales for the First Time, Driven by HBM

Counterpoint Research Reports
SK Hynix Achieves 21.8 Trillion Won in Sales
Surpasses Samsung Electronics' 21.2 Trillion Won for the First Time

SK Hynix ranked first in global memory semiconductor sales for the first time ever in the second quarter of this year, surpassing Samsung Electronics. The growth in sales is attributed to the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, which SK Hynix has taken the lead in.

According to global market research firm Counterpoint Research on July 31, SK Hynix recorded sales of 21.8 trillion won in the overall memory market, including DRAM and NAND, in the second quarter. During the same period, Samsung Electronics' memory semiconductor sales amounted to 21.2 trillion won.

Earlier this month, Counterpoint Research announced, based on preliminary data, that both companies had tied for first place in sales in the second quarter of this year. However, after each company released their finalized second-quarter results, SK Hynix was confirmed to have surpassed Samsung Electronics.

This is the first time SK Hynix has overtaken Samsung Electronics in the memory sector.

HBM technology appears to have played a pivotal role. In the first quarter of 2023, SK Hynix posted a massive loss of 3.4 trillion won, but subsequently succeeded in turning around its performance by improving production efficiency and strengthening a technology-focused strategy. In contrast, Samsung Electronics failed to meet market expectations due to sluggish HBM performance. Samsung Electronics' HBM market share plummeted from 41% in the second quarter of last year to 17% in the second quarter of this year.

Counterpoint Research analyzed, "For Samsung Electronics to recover its lost market share, diversifying HBM3E sales channels and passing Nvidia's quality tests are of utmost importance. Considering that Samsung Foundry recently secured orders from Tesla, there is room for optimism about Samsung's overall performance improvement going forward."