The memory industry continues to face seasonal headwinds in early 2025, with persistent price declines. The Lunar New Year holiday has further impacted revenue, reducing working days and dampening sales across memory manufacturers in January. Analysts expect the DRAM market to bottom out in the first half of 2025, though ongoing sluggish inventory clearance suggests performance may remain on par with late 2024.
Taiwan's export growth maintained its momentum in January 2025, driven primarily by artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) demand, according to statistics from Taiwan's Ministry of Finance (MOF).
SK Hynix's memory business in China faces numerous uncertainties due to the ongoing US-China conflict. Chief Production Officer (CPO) Young-Sik Kim will reportedly lead the Wuxi fab in response to tariffs and sanctions following the inauguration of Trump's new administration.
End markets are facing diminished demand, leading NAND manufacturers to gradually reduce production since the end of 2024, according to industry sources.
A significant shift in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector is reshaping the semiconductor market. DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, recently unveiled a large language model (LLM) that competes with those from major global players, while utilizing lower-end GPUs. This development has raised concerns among high-bandwidth memory (HBM) suppliers, as the shift could signal a potential drop in HBM prices. On the first trading day after South Korea's Lunar New Year in 2025, shares of SK Hynix fell by as much as 12%, while Samsung Electronics saw its stock drop by 4%.
Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions (DS) division has reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter of 2024, grappling with a series of challenges that have raised concerns within the semiconductor industry. Experts point to five major obstacles currently facing Samsung's semiconductor business: falling prices for general-purpose DRAM, delays in HBM deliveries, slowing demand for enterprise solid-state drives (eSSDs), widening losses in its foundry business, and escalating tensions between the US-China conflicts that may be difficult to resolve in the short term.
With the advent of the artificial intelligence (AI) era, Taiwan's industrial ecosystem has become increasingly significant. Samsung Electronics (Samsung), which previously prioritized exhibitions in the US and Europe, is reportedly set to participate in Computex for the first time in 13 years, showcasing advanced products such as high bandwidth memory (HBM).
The memory market underwent a phase of rest and consolidation just prior to the Lunar New Year holiday. DDR5 has experienced modest price increases in recent months, while other products, including DDR4 and NAND wafers, have experienced minor decreases of 1-2%. Nevertheless, overall demand remains subdued, according to industry sources.
Samsung Electronics (Samsung) plans to release an enhanced version of HBM3E as it works to close the gap with SK Hynix in HBM supply and DRAM development. The company aims to double its HBM supply in 2025 compared to the previous year, raising questions about its ability to execute this ambitious turnaround.
According to a report by Nikkei, Tongfu Microelectronics is rumored to have commenced trial production of high bandwidth memory (HBM2). This development follows fellow Chinese manufacturer ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) starting its own HBM2 production, suggesting a potential expansion of China's presence in the advanced memory industry.
In a significant advancement for China's semiconductor industry, Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) has achieved a new milestone with its fifth-generation 3D TLC NAND flash memory. According to Tom's Hardware, as reported by IThome on January 31, 2025, the company has begun shipping these chips, which feature a total of 294 layers with 232 active layers.
China's Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) has reportedly adopted the 1z process for its 10nm-class DDR5 production, prompting heightened concern at Samsung Electronics, which is now closely monitoring the status of advanced DRAM production in China.
As Samsung Electronics gears up to release its fourth-quarter 2024 financial results, industry observers are closely monitoring the company's progress in meeting its high bandwidth memory (HBM) business targets for the year. However, according to recent reports from South Korean media, Samsung's HBM shipments for the quarter are projected to exceed 20 billion gigabytes (GB), significantly below the company's original goal of 30 billion GB.
GigaDevice, a Chinese manufacturer of NOR flash memory and MCUs, recently disclosed its performance forecast for 2024. The company projects a net profit jump of over fivefold.
SK Hynix is poised to achieve a record-high operating profit in 2024, potentially surpassing Samsung Electronics (Samsung) for the first time. The company maintains its optimistic outlook on the high bandwidth memory (HBM) market, with plans to secure its market leadership through HBM4 and HBM4E development.
With Donald Trump's recent inauguration as US president, South Korean experts expect tighter sanctions on China's semiconductor industry. In response, Samsung and SK Hynix are strategically restructuring their production to reduce reliance on Chinese manufacturing.
A newly released semiconductor patent innovation ranking places ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC), and Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) at the forefront, showcasing their technological advancement within China's semiconductor industry amid US trade restrictions.
Following the release of its financial results showcasing impressive performance, SK Hynix remains cautious about adjusting production levels due to the sluggish demand for NAND flash. However, the company has not announced any plans to cut its product output.
Samsung Electronics has officially denied recent reports suggesting plans to revise the design of its fifth-generation 10nm-class DRAM (1b DRAM), emphasizing that no such changes are underway.
SK Hynix posted record revenue of KRW66.2 trillion (US$46.3 billion) in 2024, with an operating profit of KRW23.5 trillion, yielding a 35% margin. Net income reached KRW19.8 trillion.
Micron is expanding its investment in Taiwan, with plans to exceed NT$1.1 trillion (US$33.6 billion) by the end of 2024. According to Donghui Lu, head of Micron Taiwan, the company will increase overall production capacity for HBM3E in 2025 while continuing the ramp-up of 1β process capacity. Additionally, the 1γ process, which marks the first implementation of EUV equipment, will enter mass production at the Taichung plant in 2025.
As Samsung Electronics (Samsung) attempts to reshape the global memory market through its sixth-generation high bandwidth memory (HBM4), industry watchers are closely monitoring two critical factors: the mass production and yield of the sixth-generation 1c DRAM, as well as internal confidence in its foundry processes. Currently, SK Hynix dominates the HBM market.
Backend house Powertech Technology (PTI) anticipates a resurgence in demand from the memory sector beginning in the second quarter, with further enhancement projected through the fourth quarter.
Samsung Electronics has denied reports about the redesign of its fifth-generation 10nm-class DRAM (1b DRAM), following media speculation about changes to the latest commercially available technology. Sources had suggested the company was planning to adjust the design to improve performance and yield.
