The Memory Chip Battle Heats Up: Samsung Poised to Reclaim the DRAM Crown in Q4

According to industry sources cited on Sunday, Samsung Electronics of South Korea is expected to reclaim the top spot in global DRAM (dynamic random-access memory) revenue rankings in the fourth quarter of this year, overtaking its domestic rival SK Hynix.

Insiders revealed that Samsung is projected to deliver operating profit exceeding 18 trillion won (approximately USD 12.2 billion) for the October–December period—well above current market expectations.

Driving this strong performance is Samsung’s Device Solutions Division, which oversees its DRAM, NAND flash, and system semiconductor businesses. The division is forecast to generate operating profit of 15.1 trillion won, representing a sharp 166% increase from the previous quarter and an impressive 422% year-on-year surge.

With this better-than-expected earnings momentum, Samsung is now poised to rise to the top of the global DRAM supplier revenue leaderboard in Q4, pushing SK Hynix into second place.

Market analysts note that Samsung has been actively narrowing the technology gap with competitors in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) segment. At the same time, strong investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure—especially data centers—has driven up prices for conventional DRAM products. Together, these factors have significantly fueled Samsung’s earnings rebound.

The intensifying rivalry in the memory chip sector is clearly reflected in the shifting DRAM rankings. Samsung had dominated the DRAM market for an extraordinary 33 consecutive years, but was overtaken by SK Hynix for the first time in the first quarter of this year. The setback was largely attributed to Samsung’s slower progress in HBM technology.

SK Hynix pioneered the world’s first HBM chip in 2013 and has maintained its leadership position in the global HBM market ever since.

DRAM remains the most widely used volatile semiconductor memory in the world. As the core operating memory for electronic devices, DRAM enables fast, random access to data and is essential for servers, smartphones, PCs, and other high-speed computing applications.

HBM, meanwhile, is a high-performance form of DRAM built on advanced 3D stacking technology. It has become a critical component for AI applications, and with the explosive growth of the AI sector, demand for HBM has surged rapidly.

In both the second and third quarters of this year, Samsung’s DRAM revenue once again trailed that of SK Hynix. However, as Samsung accelerated HBM production and stabilized manufacturing yields, the gap between the two companies narrowed in the third quarter.

Data released by industry research firm Omdia late last month showed that global DRAM sales jumped by around 30% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter (July–September), driven by rising prices. SK Hynix held onto the top spot for the third consecutive quarter, followed by Samsung Electronics and Micron in second and third place, respectively.

In terms of market share by revenue, SK Hynix captured 34.1% of the global DRAM market in the third quarter, down 5.3 percentage points from 39.4% in the previous quarter. Samsung’s share, meanwhile, edged up from 33.2% to 33.7%. The gap between the two narrowed dramatically from 6.2 percentage points to just 0.4 percentage points—setting the stage for a potential leadership shift in Q4.