Samsung Inches Up in DRAM Market in Q3 2025, But SK Hynix Still Holds the Crown

A year ago, around the same time, Samsung dominated the global DRAM market, with SK Hynix in second place. But the situation started to shift in the fourth quarter of 2024, as the gap between Samsung and SK Hynix began to narrow.

By the first quarter of 2025, SK Hynix finally seized the crown, emerging as the DRAM market leader and dethroning Samsung. Since then, Samsung has not been able to reclaim the top spot, but things are hopefully in the right direction.

The gap is narrowing again, and here’s how it might benefit Samsung reclaim the throne

According to Counterpoint Research (via Yonhap), in the third quarter of 2025, Samsung holds a 34% share of the global DRAM market. That’s an improvement over the second quarter’s 32% DRAM market share. But still a bit short of dethroning SK Hynix as the leader, which maintains a 35% share.

Whether Samsung will reclaim the top spot remains uncertain. But the company is clearly getting back on track and may soon be closer to snatching the crown from SK Hynix. What Samsung probably needs to do is keep up the momentum and stay on the right track.

That’s how it can reclaim the top spot in the global DRAM market, which is expected to grow thanks to strong server demand and data center expansion, according to TrendForce. DDR5 prices are expected to rise throughout 2026, while HBM3e may drop slightly.

These trends aren’t likely to hurt Samsung and could even help. DDR5 demand and prices are going up, and Samsung makes a lot of DDR5, which could boost its profits. HBM3e prices might fall a little. But demand is still solid, and Samsung can shift production to focus more on DDR5.