Surpassing Samsung in DRAM market share for the first time in its 40-year history can be attributed mainly to SK Hynix's dominance in the high bandwidth memory (HBM) market. Samsung's inability to keep pace with the AI era is seen as a significant factor in its loss of the top spot.
According to South Korean media outlets, including ZDNet Korea, citing data from Counterpoint Research, Samsung's market share in the global DRAM market was approximately 34% for the first quarter of 2025, while SK Hynix held about 36%, resulting in Samsung losing its title as the leading DRAM provider. Micron ranked third with a market share of around 25%.
Starting March 2024, SK Hynix began supplying Nvidia with its fifth-generation HBM3E, while Samsung had not yet delivered any positive news regarding shipments until recently.
In the past, Samsung relied on "super-gap technologies" combined with large-scale production capabilities to dominate the memory industry; unless economic downturns forced reductions in output, Samsung's DRAM market share rarely fell below 40%.
However, its weakening became increasingly evident in 2024. For AI semiconductors, including HBM, its insufficient technological competitiveness has led to ongoing challenges and a decline in market share, allowing SK Hynix to seize the DRAM throne.
The South Korean industry generally believes that Samsung may struggle to reclaim its top position in the short term. Whether it can successfully defend its status will depend on whether it can achieve significant results in HBM.
Counterpoint Research further predicts that the ranking for DRAM market shares in the second quarter of 2025 is likely to resemble that of the first quarter.
Article edited by Jack Wu
