Micron Closes In on SK hynix in Global DRAM Race
The race for second place in the global DRAM market is heating up, with the gap between the second- and third-ranked competitors narrowing to just 1 percentage point. As Samsung Electronics maintains an overwhelming hold on first place, U.S.-based Micron, which has posted record-high results, has mo
The global DRAM market is witnessing intense competition between the top three players. SK hynix is currently leading in second place with a 25% market share, while Micron has climbed to third place with 24%, closing the gap to just 1 percentage point. Samsung Electronics, which holds the first position, maintains a dominant 38% share of the global DRAM market revenue, having held onto this spot for three consecutive quarters.
The gap between SK hynix and Micron, which stood at 7 percentage points in Q1, has contracted significantly within a single quarter, shrinking to just 1 percentage point. This sharp decline in SK hynix's market share, which dropped by 4 percentage points, contrasts with Micron's increase of 2 percentage points.
Micron's surge in market share is driven by strong earnings growth. In its latest fiscal fourth-quarter results, Micron reported revenue of $54.23 billion, setting a new quarterly record. Its gross margin also improved by 2.2 percentage points, reaching 86.8% in comparison to the previous quarter. Counterpoint Research highlights that Micron's DRAM revenue grew by fivefold from the same period a year earlier, underscoring its rapid revenue growth and improved profitability.
China's Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) is also making significant strides, securing the fourth position with a 10% market share in the second quarter. This represents a 2 percentage point increase from the previous quarter, and a more than doubling of its market share compared to the same period a year earlier, which was at 4%.
The supply shortage in the memory semiconductor market is expected to persist for an extended period. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra stated in a conference call that 2027 and 2028 supply and demand conditions for memory and storage are expected to be far tighter than they were in 2026. Over 75% of Micron's 2027 production volume has already been secured through sales contracts, further solidifying their position in the market.
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