AI Boom Helps SK Hynix Displace Samsung as DRAM Market Leader

During its upcoming quarterly earnings report, SK hynix is ​​likely to announce that it has displaced Samsung as the world’s leading DRAM maker for the first time in decades of rivalry, helped by rising demand for AI components.

Image source: skhynix.com

SK hynix, the main supplier of high-speed memory for Nvidia, captured 36% of the DRAM market in the last quarter, while Samsung got only 34%, analysts from Counterpoint Research reported. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Samsung, which held the status of the leader in the DRAM segment for more than 30 years, showed lower profit than SK hynix. A significant part of SK hynix’s revenue comes from high-speed memory for AI, analysts believe.

DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) is a type of memory that is primarily used for data processing on computers and servers; HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) chips include several DRAM crystals installed on top of each other. This allows for a significant increase in the volume of data processed, which is especially important for accelerators used in AI training. According to analysts, tomorrow SK hynix will announce a 38% quarterly sales growth and a 129% increase in operating profit for the reporting period. In the HBM segment, the company strengthened its leadership, taking 70% of the market. By the end of 2025, according to TrendForce forecasts, SK hynix will retain about half of the market in bits, while Samsung’s share will fall below 30%, and Micron will increase its share to almost 20%.

Image source: Counterpointresearch.com

Experts say sanctions against China and US tariffs are holding back the memory market. The HBM segment appears vulnerable to any slowdown in chip packaging capacity, so investors’ favorite is Samsung, which is “better able to withstand a slowdown in the macroeconomic environment.” SK hynix’s operating profit margin was 36-38% last quarter, according to analysts. The company’s competitor, Micron, showed a mid-single-digit increase in DRAM prices for the quarter ended February 27. Samsung preliminarily reported an operating profit of 6.6 trillion won ($4.6 billion) on revenue of 79 trillion won ($55.59 billion); the company will present its full financial report on April 30.