Samsung Reclaimed Top Spot in Global Memory Market in Q3 2025

Samsung has reclaimed its long-standing top spot in the global memory market in the third quarter of 2025. According to Counterpoint Research, the company earned $19.4 billion in memory sales, surpassing SK Hynix ($17.5 billion). This is a major achievement for the Korean memory maker, as it suffered setbacks in the first half of the year.

Samsung beat SK Hynix to lead the global memory market again

In Q1 2025, Samsung saw headwinds in its memory business. As a result, the company lost the top spot in the DRAM market to SK Hynix. Market watchers said that the company failed to increase the sales of its High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) during that period. While demand for HBM chips in the market was high, it failed to capitalize on this advantage.

Samsung’s poor performance was not just limited to the DRAM segment. The company had also fallen to second spot in the overall memory sector in Q2 2025. Thankfully, the firm made a comeback in the third quarter, with memory sales increasing 25% quarter-on-quarter. In comparison, SK Hynix also saw a boost of 13%, but Samsung’s strategy helped it regain the top spot in the memory market.

“Samsung Electronics struggled in the memory sector in the first half of the year due to sluggish HBM sales, but its intensive efforts to restore quality have successfully countered the situation and reclaimed the top spot this quarter,” said Jeongku Choi, Senior Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research.

The research firm said that Samsung performed quite well in general-purpose DRAM and NAND memory. Meanwhile, other industry analysts shared a similar view on the company’s growth, saying that it helped the company surpass KRW 10 trillion in overall operating profit in Q3 2025. Furthermore, Samsung’s newly released Galaxy Z foldables are selling quite well globally, contributing to its solid Q3 performance.

In the future, Samsung is expected to perform well in its HBM business. Hopefully, the Korean firm will continue to strengthen its leadership in this space while maintaining the momentum of growth in 2026.