Volatile NAND Market Shakes... 'Industry Leader' Samsung Expands Market Share in Q2

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Samsung Electronics, the 'No. 1 in sales' in the global NAND flash market, has expanded its market share in the second quarter of this year. The NAND market is shaking up as SK Hynix, ranked 4th in the industry, is in the process of acquiring the NAND business unit of Intel, ranked 6th in the U.S., and there is even the possibility of a merger between Japan's Kioxia and the U.S.'s Western Digital (WD), ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively.

According to Taiwan market research firm TrendForce on the 26th, Samsung Electronics' NAND-related sales in the second quarter of this year amounted to $5.59 billion (approximately 6.54 trillion KRW), a 12.5% increase compared to the previous quarter. Its market share expanded by 0.5 percentage points from 33.5% in the first quarter to 34.0% in the second quarter. TrendForce analyzed that strong demand for PCs and enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs) led to about an 8% increase in Samsung's NAND bit shipment volume compared to the previous quarter, and the average selling price also rose by about 5% from the previous quarter.

SK Hynix's NAND sales in the second quarter also increased by 10.8% from the previous quarter, reaching $2.0248 billion. TrendForce explained that SK Hynix's bit shipment volume rose by 3% and the average selling price increased by 8% compared to the previous quarter. SK Hynix maintained its 4th place position with a market share of 12.3%, the same as the previous quarter.

The 2nd largest market share was held by Kioxia at 18.3%, followed by Western Digital at 14.7% in 3rd place, and U.S.-based Micron at 11.0% in 5th place. Their respective sales increased by 8.5%, 11.2%, and 9.8% quarter-over-quarter, showing growth driven by the memory semiconductor boom.

However, Intel's NAND market share, which SK Hynix is acquiring, fell from 7.5% in the first quarter to 6.7% in the second quarter. In terms of sales, Intel was the only one among the top six companies to show a decline. Intel's NAND-related sales in the second quarter decreased by 0.8% to $1.812 billion. This is attributed to supply disruptions of key components such as power management ICs (PMIC) and controller ICs, which impacted Intel's enterprise SSD shipments.

Due to the memory boom, the global NAND market size in the second quarter recorded $16.4195 billion, a 10.8% increase from the previous quarter. TrendForce attributed this to data centers' inventory stocking activities for enterprise SSDs and sustained laptop demand, and forecasted that NAND demand and price increases will continue into the third quarter, leading to record quarterly sales.

Along with the sales growth, the NAND market is in turmoil. Last year, SK Hynix decided to acquire Intel's NAND business and is currently proceeding with the acquisition process. Only approval from Chinese regulatory authorities remains, and once this process is completed, SK Hynix's market share in the NAND market is expected to expand to about 19%, ranking second in sales.

Additionally, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Western Digital, ranked 2nd, and Kioxia, ranked 3rd, are discussing a merger. If the two companies merge, their NAND flash market share as of the second quarter would jump to 33%, closely trailing Samsung Electronics' 34.0%. WSJ reported that negotiations are ongoing, and Kioxia might also proceed with its initial public offering (IPO) as originally planned without a merger.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.