"Samsung Is Back"... Reclaims Global DRAM Throne After One Year

DRAM Sales Reach 19.2 Billion Dollars

Following its record-breaking quarterly operating profit in the fourth quarter of last year, Samsung Electronics has successfully reclaimed the top spot in the global DRAM market after one year.

According to market research firm Counterpoint Research on January 8, Samsung Electronics recorded $25.9 billion in memory semiconductor sales in the fourth quarter of last year. This represents a 34% increase compared to the previous quarter. It is estimated that approximately 40% of Samsung Electronics' total sales of 93 trillion won during the quarter came from memory semiconductors.

Comparison of Major Companies' Memory Sales Revenue in Q4 2025. Counterpoint Research

DRAM sales amounted to $19.2 billion, while NAND sales reached $6.7 billion, respectively.

During the same period, SK Hynix's total memory sales were tallied at $22.4 billion. DRAM sales were $17.1 billion, and NAND sales were $5.3 billion.

Samsung Electronics has regained the number one position in the DRAM market, which it had lost to SK Hynix, after one year. The company had maintained the top spot in the DRAM market for about 30 years until the fourth quarter of 2024, before conceding it for the first time in the first quarter of 2025.

Choi Jeonggu, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research, stated, "Samsung is back," adding, "The company has responded well to customer demand trends in general-purpose DRAM, focusing on servers. Introducing the 1c process and 4nm (1nm = one-billionth of a meter) logic process to sixth-generation high bandwidth memory (HBM4) has delivered strong results in terms of speed and heat dissipation."