Micron Technology narrowed SK hynix's lead in the global DRAM market to a single percentage point in the second quarter, as the South Korean company's emphasis on high-bandwidth memory left it less exposed to soaring prices for conventional chips, Edaily reported Friday, citing Counterpoint Research data. Samsung Electronics remained the market leader.

What Happened

By revenue, Samsung held 38% of the DRAM market in the April-to-June quarter, unchanged from the first quarter and its third consecutive quarter in first place. SK hynix slipped to 25% from 29%, while Micron rose to 24% from 22%. The gap between the second- and third-ranked suppliers shrank from seven points to one.

China's ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT, took 10% of the market, up from 8% in the first quarter and 4% a year earlier. It is the first time the Chinese maker has reached a double-digit share.

RelatedIran Security Chief Threatens Cables, Data Centers and AI Sites if Fighting Resumes

In high-bandwidth memory, the stacked DRAM packaged alongside AI accelerators, SK hynix's share fell to 50% from 58% in the first quarter. Samsung's rose to 33% from 21%, and Micron held 18%, according to Edaily.

Why It Matters

The Seoul Economic Daily attributed the shift largely to product mix, reporting that SK hynix has devoted more of its capacity to HBM supply than its rivals. In the second quarter, prices for standard DRAM rose sharply while HBM prices stayed relatively flat, so companies with more conventional DRAM to sell captured more of the revenue growth.

Micron's latest results show the effect. For its fiscal fourth quarter, covering June through August, the company reported record revenue of $54.23 billion, up 30.8% from the previous quarter, and gross margin of 86.8%, up from 84.6%. By comparison, analysts polled by FnGuide expect SK hynix's third-quarter revenue to reach about 98.27 trillion won, a 23.9% sequential increase, the Seoul Economic Daily said.

Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said the company expects supply and demand to become "even tighter in 2027 and 2028" as demand outpaces new supply. That outlook suggests pricing power will remain with memory makers, and that market share will keep moving with each company's choice of where to put its wafers.

The HBM Contest

Samsung's HBM gain is the more strategic change. SK hynix has been the lead HBM supplier for Nvidia's accelerators, and an eight-point drop in its share within one quarter, against a 12-point gain for Samsung, suggests Samsung is making progress after earlier struggles to qualify its HBM with major customers. CXMT's rise adds a third front: the Chinese supplier is growing in conventional DRAM, the segment where prices are rising fastest.

What to Watch

Third-quarter data will show whether Micron overtakes SK hynix for second place in DRAM. SK hynix plans to expand HBM4 volumes in earnest in the second half to line up with Nvidia's Vera Rubin launch, and to raise conventional DRAM output using its sixth-generation 10-nanometer-class process, known as 1c. KED Global reported that SK hynix is also in talks with Microsoft and Google on large long-term DRAM supply agreements, which could lock in volumes and pricing for several years.