Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Increase NAND Flash Market Share in 3Q

Samsung Maintains 1st Place with 34.0%→34.5%... SK Hynix Rises 1.2%p to 13.5%

NAND Flash Market Share Status for Q3 2021 Compiled by Taiwanese Market Research Firm TrendForce

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hye-young] Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have seen an increase in their market share of memory semiconductor NAND flash in the third quarter of this year. This rise in performance and market share is attributed to growing demand in the smartphone and data center markets.

According to Taiwanese market research firm TrendForce on the 25th, Samsung Electronics' NAND flash market share in the third quarter rose by 0.5 percentage points from 34.0% in the second quarter to 34.5%, maintaining its top position. Samsung's sales recorded $6.51 billion (approximately 7.7241 trillion KRW), a 16.5% increase compared to the previous quarter.

This was due to Samsung's NAND flash average selling price (ASP) rising by 10% from the previous quarter, driven by inventory stocking moves by data centers and smartphone manufacturers. However, due to weak demand for PC NAND flash, bit shipment volume increased by only 5% compared to the previous quarter.

SK Hynix's NAND flash market share in the third quarter rose by 1.2 percentage points from the second quarter to 13.5%, ranking third after Samsung Electronics and Japan's Kioxia. Its sales increased by 25.6% from the previous quarter to $2.545 billion (approximately 3.0196 trillion KRW).

Intel's NAND market share, which SK Hynix is acquiring, fell to 5.9% in the third quarter. Intel has shown a continuous decline in market share this year, with 7.5% in the first quarter and 6.7% in the second quarter. TrendForce explained, "Although strong demand in the data center sector led to nearly a 6% increase in the average selling price of Intel's NAND flash products, shipment volume declined by 5% compared to the previous quarter due to upstream component shortages."

SK Hynix is currently awaiting approval from Chinese regulatory authorities regarding the acquisition of Intel's NAND business. If the acquisition is completed as planned by the end of this year, SK Hynix's NAND market share is expected to rise to 19%.

Meanwhile, Kioxia ranked second with a 19.3% NAND market share in the third quarter, U.S.-based Western Digital was fourth with 13.2%, and U.S.-based Micron ranked fifth with 10.4%.

TrendForce analyzed that the global NAND flash market in the third quarter of this year grew by 15.0% from the previous quarter to $18.8791 billion (approximately 22.4 trillion KRW), driven by increased demand in data center and smartphone markets. Bit shipment volume increased by 11%, and the average selling price rose by 4%.

However, for the fourth quarter, it is expected that customers will reduce transaction volumes as they begin clearing NAND flash inventories, leading to a decline in fixed transaction prices for NAND flash.

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