Memory market leader transitions: SK hynix surpasses Samsung due to HBM rise
In a significant shift in the global memory chip market, SK hynix has surpassed Samsung Electronics, particularly in the High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) segment. This development is primarily due to SK hynix's dominant position in supplying HBM3E chips for NVIDIA's AI accelerators, which are crucial in AI workloads.
Several key factors have contributed to this shift. Firstly, SK hynix secured early certification and design wins for its 12-layer HBM3E chips with NVIDIA, a major customer in AI high-performance computing. This gave SK hynix a critical edge in production and market penetration for AI applications.
Secondly, SK hynix strategically focused on the booming AI and High Performance Computing (HPC) market where HBM demand is surging, particularly from AI accelerator customers like NVIDIA. Their dominance in this niche has entrenched their leadership.
Meanwhile, Samsung faced several operational and market challenges. Delayed shipments of HBM products, export restrictions from the US on advanced chip sales to China, reduced operating profits, and inventory writedowns have limited Samsung's ability to effectively compete and react to market changes.
In response to losing ground, Samsung cut prices aggressively on HBM3E chips to entice NVIDIA and other AI firms to boost demand. However, this strategy only began after SK hynix had solidified its lead.
Despite these challenges, Samsung's HBM sales appear to have bottomed out in the first quarter of 2025 and are showing signs of recovery in the second quarter. This recovery is a current development, not previously mentioned.
SK hynix's focused sales strategy led to a memory revenue of approximately $9.66 billion in Q2 2025, surpassing Samsung's $8.94 billion revenue in the same segment, further reinforcing its market leadership.
It's worth noting that SK hynix is supplying Nvidia with its advanced 8-layer and 12-layer HBM3E products, contributing to its soaring sales. Micron Technology, the second-largest supplier of HBM memory chips, has a 21% share in the market.
SK hynix's success in the HBM market has been consistent, while Samsung's earnings in this area have been on a downward trend. In the April-June period, SK hynix surpassed Samsung Electronics in the global memory chip market for the first time, with sales of 21.8 trillion won ($15.6 billion).
Looking ahead, Samsung should focus on achieving stable yield levels to supply next-generation HBM4 for Nvidia's upcoming Rubin platform. To regain lost market share, Samsung needs to diversify its HBM3E customer base and pass Nvidia's stringent quality tests.
Choi Jeong-ku, a Counterpoint Research analyst, believes that Samsung Foundry's orders from Tesla indicate growing expectations for an overall improvement in Samsung's future performance.
SK hynix's dominance in HBM memory chips is a significant factor in its market success. Its profitability has increased due to its leadership in high bandwidth memory chips, particularly for AI products. With these developments, SK hynix has taken the top spot in the global memory chip market, marking a significant milestone in the industry.
In the evolving landscape of technology and AI high-performance computing, SK hynix's dominance in the High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) segment, particularly in supplying HBM3E chips for NVIDIA's AI accelerators, has significantly boosted its finance revenue, with a record sales figure of approximately $9.66 billion in Q2 2025. Despite this, Samsung's HBM sales, hampered by operational and market challenges, are showing recovery signs in the second quarter of 2025, signifying a critical area of focus for Samsung in regaining its business leadership in the global memory chip market.
