Micron closes in on SK hynix in DRAM market share as CXMT doubles its slice in a year

While Samsung Electronics and SK hynix celebrate record earnings at home, US memory chipmaker Micron and Chinese rival CXMT are rapidly closing the gap.

For the first time in 12 years — since SK hynix overtook Micron in market share in 2014 — the two companies are separated by just 1 percentage point. CXMT, meanwhile, has nearly doubled its share in a year, cementing its position as the world's fourth-largest DRAM maker.

According to Counterpoint Research's second-quarter 2026 DRAM revenue market share data released Tuesday, Samsung Electronics held first place with a 39% share.

SK hynix, by contrast, saw its revenue surge 214% year-on-year, but its market share fell to 26% from 39% in the same period last year.

"Samsung's rebound from last year has completely erased all of its previous underperformance," said Choi Jeong-gu, a principal analyst at Counterpoint Research. "Samsung has benefited from rising demand and prices for commodity DRAM while also expanding its share in HBM. With further price increases expected in the third quarter, Samsung Electronics' earnings are likely to grow even more."

SK hynix's hold on second place, however, looks increasingly precarious. Micron posted a 25% share this quarter, trailing SK hynix by just 1 percentage point. SK hynix has held second place consistently since the second quarter of 2014, when it overtook Micron — then at 26% — with a 27% share. Twelve years on, Micron has nearly caught up.

"SK hynix achieved record earnings both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, but its market share declined as Samsung Electronics and Micron squeezed from both sides, slowing its growth relative to competitors," said Hwang Min-seong, a director at Counterpoint Research.

Hwang pointed to two reasons. SK hynix has the highest share of HBM bit shipments and revenue among its peers, making it more exposed to falling HBM average selling prices. Commodity DRAM prices surged in the second quarter compared with the first, while HBM prices fell year-on-year — a result of declining prices for existing HBM3E products coinciding with delays in the rollout of HBM4.

SK hynix also locked in long-term supply agreements earlier than its rivals, limiting its ability to benefit from the recent DRAM price rally. "Because LTAs set price ceilings and floors based on a fixed contract price, agreements negotiated early in an upcycle will inevitably be priced below current market levels," Hwang said.

CXMT's ascent is equally striking. The Chinese chipmaker captured a 7% share in the second quarter, representing 716% growth year-on-year. Counterpoint Research described CXMT as "the fastest-growing DRAM supplier in the world, driven by robust domestic demand for commodity DRAM and rapid capacity expansion."

"The key question for the second half of the year is how aggressively CXMT's planned initial public offering will fund capacity expansion for HBM and LPDDR6," said Neil Shah, vice president at Counterpoint Research. "If CXMT can scale up enough capacity and capability to meet domestic and overseas demand from top-tier global customers — starting with PCs — its market share a year from now will look very different from today."

He added: "The question is not 'how' but 'when' CXMT will enter the memory Big 3 club."

CXMT is already moving fast on that front. Following its IPO, the company is pursuing construction of a second memory chip factory in Beijing, which is expected to give it monthly production capacity of around 600,000 wafers — approaching the roughly 650,000 to 700,000 wafers Samsung Electronics produces each month.

Industry analysts say explosive growth in memory demand has outpaced what the three established players can supply, and CXMT has seized on that gap. With the supply shortage pushing prices sharply higher, Apple has reportedly been lobbying the Donald Trump administration to allow it to use CXMT-made memory chips.