In the third quarter, as the global NAND flash market saw a slight increase in sales, major companies also reported growth in revenue. Samsung Electronics maintained its lead with the number one market share, while SK hynix climbed from third to second place.
Market research firm TrendForce reported on Dec. 5 that NAND market revenue increased by 2.9% from the previous quarter to US$9.2291 billion. This rise is attributed to a market demand surge amid production cuts by major NAND suppliers.
Samsung Electronics’ third-quarter revenue was similar to the previous quarter, but its market share slightly decreased to 31.4% from 32.3% in the second quarter, still securing the first place. Notably, there was a shift in the second-place ranking. Japan’s Kioxia, which overtook SK hynix for the second spot in last year’s third quarter, was surpassed by SK hynix this quarter after a year.
Samsung Electronics recorded a stable revenue of US$2.9 billion, maintaining a 31.4% market share. In contrast, SK hynix’s revenue surged by 11.9% to US$1.864 billion, taking over the second spot with a 20.2% market share. Western Digital, a U.S. company, saw a 13% increase in sales to US$1.556 billion, raising its market share from 15.3% to 16.9% and moving from fourth to third place. However, Kioxia’s revenue fell by 8.6% to US$1.336 billion, dropping its market share from 16.3% to 14.5% and plummeting from second to fourth place. U.S.-based Micron Technology reported a 5.2% decrease in revenue to US$1.15 billion.
TrendForce explained, “Kioxia saw a 3% increase in average selling price (ASP) for NAND in the third quarter, but its shipments dropped by 10-15% due to delayed orders from customers, leading to a decline in revenue. The SK Group (including SK hynix and its subsidiary Solidigm) saw increased shipments and revenue due to rising demand for high-capacity products in the PC and smartphone sectors.”
The market share gap between SK hynix and the leading Samsung Electronics also narrowed to a historic low. Before merging with Solidigm, SK hynix’s market share was in the fourth to fifth range, but post-merger it has been in the second to third range. As of the third quarter of this year, the gap in market share with Samsung Electronics was at its smallest at 11.2 percentage points.
Even in the DRAM market, SK hynix has reduced its gap with Samsung Electronics to a historic low. According to TrendForce, in the third quarter, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix held market shares of 38.9% and 34.3%, respectively, narrowing the gap by approximately 5 percentage points from the previous quarter’s figures of 39.6% and 30.1%.