Samsung Electronics has maintained its dominance in the global memory chip market despite facing challenging market conditions and lackluster earnings in the first quarter of the year, according to a report by market tracker Omdia.
Samsung’s share of the DRAM market remained steady at 42.8 percent. However, the company’s DRAM revenue witnessed a significant decline of 61.2 percent, reaching $4.01 billion in the January-March period, compared to $10.35 billion from the previous year.
SK Hynix, on the other hand, slipped from the second to the third position in the global memory chip market due to an output cut that preceded Samsung’s actions. The company’s DRAM market share stood at 24.7 percent in Q1, down 2.3 percentage points from the previous quarter. SK Hynix reported an operating loss of $2.5 billion in the three-month period, a sharp contrast from a profitable year earlier.
Micron Technology emerged as the second-largest player in the DRAM market with a 27.2 percent share.
Samsung Electronics also retained its top position in the NAND flash market, with a 34.3 per cent share, even though its quarterly revenue in this segment fell considerably. Its NAND flash revenue decreased to $2.99 billion in the first quarter, compared to $6.33 billion from the previous year. SK Hynix slipped to the fourth position in the NAND flash market with a 16.8 percent share.
Despite the challenging first quarter, analysts see a potential turnaround for both Samsung and SK Hynix in the second quarter, as losses narrowed compared to the previous quarter.
Both companies have outlined their strategies for the future, focusing on advanced high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and double data rate 5 (DDR5) memory chips, which are experiencing higher demand.
DDR5 is the next-generation PC main memory with increased speed and capacity, while HBM chips are well-suited for high-performance computing systems, including artificial intelligence-driven data analytics and advanced graphics systems. These moves indicate their efforts to adapt to market trends and capitalize on emerging technologies.
Industry experts are closely watching Samsung and SK Hynix’s progress, anticipating their potential resurgence in the memory chip market amid an ever-changing tech landscape.
