Samsung Holds 38% of Q3 DRAM Revenue as SK hynix Gains to 29%

Samsung Electronics kept the top spot in global DRAM in the third quarter with 38% of revenue, while SK hynix rose to 29%, according to market tracker Counterpoint Research figures reported on Nov. 5.

Counterpoint's July-September table, as relayed by Yonhap and Seoul Economic Daily, puts Micron Technology third at 21% and China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) fourth at 9%. Yonhap says Samsung's share slipped from 39% in the second quarter and SK hynix gained 3 percentage points. Seoul Economic Daily reports Samsung unchanged at 38% and SK hynix up 4 points from 25%, which narrows the gap between the two to 9 points from 13. The outlets round the second-quarter base differently, and we have not seen Counterpoint's full table.

Why SK hynix gained

Seoul Economic Daily says SK hynix's DRAM revenue grew more than 40% on the quarter, driven by HBM3E (high-bandwidth memory, the stacked DRAM beside AI accelerators) and higher prices. The paper adds that SK hynix had prioritized HBM and so benefited less from the steep rise in conventional DRAM prices earlier in the year. Counterpoint said HBM prices, which rose less than conventional DRAM, are now catching up.

Micron lost 3 points to 21% and CXMT lost 1 point to 9%, according to Seoul Economic Daily. CXMT had reached 10% in the second quarter, its first double-digit share. Counterpoint expects pressure on CXMT to grow once Korean makers start supplying HBM4 in the fourth quarter.

The size of the market

Seoul Economic Daily quotes Counterpoint saying bit shipments grew only about 4% this quarter, yet DRAM revenue reached roughly $200 billion, up 369% from a year earlier. Prices, not volume, carry that growth. Counterpoint said long-term agreements are underpinning prices and that, with major new fabs not starting until 2028, the shortage will persist. Suppliers are expected to post record results again next quarter.

That fits what the makers themselves said last month. SK hynix reported record operating profit and said demand for DRAM and HBM would exceed supply, as Voltgrid reported, and the DDR4 8Gb contract price hit a record $27.5 in October. For data-center buyers, a market where revenue grows far faster than bits means buyers are facing price increases, not new supply.

HBM is a separate race

The DRAM share figures do not measure HBM. Counterpoint's latest HBM split, for the second quarter, had SK hynix at 50% and Samsung at 33%. Counterpoint said SK hynix led HBM3E but its growth has slowed, while Samsung's HBM4 is drawing a favorable response from customers, and it expects Samsung to regain the top HBM spot next year. That is a forecast.

Bernstein's estimate of third-quarter HBM revenue, which put Samsung at $8.7 billion, $1.1 billion ahead of SK hynix, is a different measure from a different broker; it is an estimate, not a company result. Neither it nor Counterpoint's second-quarter split is a third-quarter HBM share.

What is not confirmed yet

Counterpoint's full third-quarter report was not public in the coverage we read, so the revenue base behind the percentages and the second-quarter restatement are unverified. No third-quarter HBM share appeared in the coverage we read. Whether HBM4 shipments in the fourth quarter dent CXMT's share, as Counterpoint projects, will show in the next quarterly table. CXMT has separately said its 4F2 DRAM platform passed sample validation, with server DDR5 samples due by the end of 2026.