Samsung Electronics has reclaimed the top spot in the global DRAM market from SK Hynix after one year. The company has regained competitiveness in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), while rising prices for general DRAM have also significantly boosted related revenue. Industry insiders expect Samsung to maintain its lead as general DRAM prices remain elevated.

According to data released on the 22nd by market research firm Omdia, total global DRAM market revenue reached**US$52.47 billion** (approximately KRW 76 trillion) in the fourth quarter of last year, an increase of US$12 billion (about KRW 17 trillion) from the previous quarter. The sharp rise in DRAM prices greatly expanded the overall market size.

Among them, Samsung Electronics’ DRAM revenue surged40.6% quarter-on-quarter to US$19.156 billion (around KRW 27.7 trillion). Its market share rose 2.9 percentage points to36.6%, returning to first place.

In the same period, SK Hynix’s DRAM revenue grew 25.2% to US$17.226 billion (about KRW 25 trillion), but its market share fell from 34.1% to 32.9%, dropping to second place. SK Hynix had taken the top spot in the first quarter of last year thanks to a surge in HBM sales, but the ranking shifted again after one year.

This marks the first change in the global DRAM market structure in 33 years, since Samsung became the world’s No. 1 DRAM supplier in 1992. According to Omdia, SK Hynix held the top position for three consecutive quarters until the third quarter of 2025.

The sharp jump in Samsung’s DRAM revenue was mainly driven by the broad-based rise in general DRAM prices. Counterpoint Research estimates that server DRAM prices jumped 76% quarter-on-quarter in Q4 last year and is forecast to rise another 98% in the first quarter of this year. Since Samsung’s general DRAM production capacity is far higher than SK Hynix’s, it has benefited more from the price uptrend.

At the same time, HBM revenue also grew strongly, helping Samsung restore competitiveness in its DRAM business.

During its earnings call last month, Samsung stated: “We expanded HBM sales in the fourth quarter and met market demand with high-value-added products such as high-capacity DDR5 and low-power high-performance DRAM (LPDDR5X).” It added: “Driven by rising market prices and a product mix focused on high-value-added server products, the average selling price (ASP) of DRAM increased by approximately 40% quarter-on-quarter.”

Samsung began supplying HBM4 to NVIDIA this year. Although Samsung was the first to ship HBM4, SK Hynix is expected to dominate in terms of total supply volume. Samsung started shipping HBM4 in February, with data rates reaching up to 13 Gbps.

SK Hynix plans to begin supplying HBM4 in the first quarter. However, SK Hynix is believed to have advantages in both capacity and yield, with market expectations that it will account for around 50% of total HBM4 shipments, while Samsung will take about 20%.

For now, however, DRAM is more profitable than HBM amid soaring DRAM prices, leaving Samsung with little incentive to cut prices for greater market share. HBM4 is reportedly priced at around US$700, about 20% to 30% higher than HBM3E.

Against this backdrop, industry analysts believe it is unlikely that SK Hynix will retake the DRAM top spot in the short term. One semiconductor industry insider commented: “From Samsung’s perspective, significantly ramping up HBM4 shipments will not meaningfully improve profitability.” He added: “Instead, it makes more sense to mass-produce general DRAM and maximize profits using its strong production capacity and high yield rates.” A turning point may come at the end of this year, when DRAM prices stabilize and competition for orders of the next-generation HBM4E intensifies.

In Q4 last year, Micron Technology’s market share fell from 25.8% to 22.9%, while Chinese firms’ share rose from 3.7% to 4.7%. The DRAM supply shortage has created opportunities for Chinese companies to expand their market presence.