SK Hynix overtakes Samsung as top global memory vendor

SK Hynix has surpassed Samsung Electronics to become the top global Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) vendor, holding 36% of the market in Q1 2025, compared to Samsung’s 34%.

This shift is largely due to SK Hynix’s strong position in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, which are crucial for AI applications.

The company controlled 70% of the HBM market during this period, driven by demand from clients like Nvidia.

Analysts project a 38% quarter-on-quarter increase in SK Hynix’s sales and a 129% rise in operating profit for Q1 2025. This follows a December quarter in which SK Hynix’s operating profit exceeded Samsung’s for the first time.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Samsung’s historic 30-year DRAM leadership ends with a strategic misstep in AI memory

SK Hynix’s market leadership marks a significant moment in an industry that Samsung has dominated since the early 1990s.

Samsung’s journey to DRAM dominance began in the 1980s when it produced its first 64Kb DRAM chip in 1983, eventually becoming the largest memory producer by 1993 and maintaining that position for three decades 1.

The leadership change stems from SK Hynix’s strategic focus on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, where it now commands 70% market share compared to Samsung’s sub-30% position 2.

This shift illustrates how AI is reshaping competitive dynamics in the memory industry, with HBM demand increasing 150% in 2023 alone due to AI applications 3.

TrendForce forecasts that SK Hynix will continue to hold over half the HBM market throughout 2025, suggesting this leadership change may not be temporary 2.

2️⃣ Memory market consolidation created the conditions for SK Hynix’s rise

The DRAM industry has transformed from a fragmented market to an oligopoly dominated by just three companies controlling over 90% of the market share by 2014 4.

This consolidation followed years of intense price wars and the DRAM price-fixing scandal of the early 2000s, which resulted in significant penalties for Samsung, Hynix, and other manufacturers 5.

The more concentrated market structure has shifted company focus from market share battles to profitability, with memory players’ EBIT peaking at 25% in 2015 after a period of rational behavior among remaining competitors 4.