Samsung narrows HBM market share gap with SK hynix to 17 points in Q2
Quick Look
Samsung Electronics increased its global high-bandwidth memory revenue share to 33% in Q2, narrowing the gap with market leader SK hynix to 17 percentage points, as shipments of its latest HBM products expanded to major tech firms, according to Counterpoint Research.
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Why It Matters
The high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market is critical for AI processors, with Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron as the three major competitors. SK hynix has historically led due to its relationship with Nvidia, while Samsung is seeking to close the gap through newer HBM4 products.
Samsung Electronics lifted its share of global high-bandwidth memory revenue to 33 percent in the second quarter, narrowing the gap with market leader SK hynix to 17 percentage points.
Samsung’s share jumped from 21 percent in the first quarter as it expanded shipments of its latest HBM products to major global technology companies, Counterpoint Research said Friday.
SK hynix retained the top spot with 50 percent of revenue in the April-June period, down from 64 percent a year earlier. Micron Technology ranked third with an 18 percent share, down from 21 percent in the previous quarter.
Counterpoint expects Samsung to gain further ground as shipments of sixth-generation HBM4 increase.
Fifth-generation HBM3E still accounts for most industry revenue, but HBM4 shipments are expected to accelerate in the second half. Competition among the three memory chipmakers is set to intensify as developers of next-generation AI processors adopt the newer products.
SK hynix has built a commanding HBM lead through its position as a key supplier of HBM3 and HBM3E to US AI chip giant Nvidia.
Samsung, however, expects HBM4 to help it close the gap. During its second-quarter earnings call in July, the company said its HBM market share could approach its overall DRAM market share in the second half.
“Demand for HBM4 is growing rapidly in line with customers’ ramp-up schedules for the second half,” said Kim Jae-june, executive vice president of Samsung Electronics’ Memory Business.
“We expect HBM4 to account for more than 60 percent of our total HBM revenue in the second half.”
Samsung increased HBM4 sales in the second quarter and supplied HBM4E samples to major customers.
SK hynix maintains that its yearslong lead has produced advantages that rivals cannot quickly reproduce.
“Our accumulated competitiveness in time to market, product performance, mass-production yield, quality and customer trust are differentiators that cannot be replicated in a short period of time,” the company said during its second-quarter earnings call.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Samsung's HBM market share will continue to grow in the second half of 2024
Likely · Within months
HBM4 shipments will accelerate in the second half of 2024 across the industry
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- What specific technical advantages does HBM4 offer over HBM3E?
- How will Micron respond to the intensifying competition in the HBM market?
- What are the exact timelines for HBM4 mass production by each company?
