CNBC AI News, August 2, 2025 – In a stunning turn of events, SK Hynix has dethroned Samsung Electronics as the world’s leading memory manufacturer in the second quarter of 2025. SK Hynix reported memory sales of ₩21.8 trillion, surpassing Samsung’s ₩21.2 trillion and marking a historic shift in the semiconductor landscape.
This reversal is largely attributed to the insatiable demand for memory driven by the artificial intelligence boom, particularly the heated battleground that is the High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) market.
Samsung’s HBM shipment share plummeted from 41% in the same period of 2024 to a mere 17% in Q2 2025. In contrast, SK Hynix has capitalized on its HBM prowess, solidifying its position as a key partner for Nvidia and fueling a surge in operating profits.
Samsung, grappling with declining operating profits, reflects its relative weakness in the HBM arena. However, the South Korean giant is far from throwing in the towel.
Sources reveal that Samsung anticipates a potential price decline for its fifth-generation HBM, HBM3E, due to projected market supply exceeding demand.
Samsung has indicated that even with potential HBM3E price erosion, rising prices for conventional DRAM could mitigate the impact on profit margins.
The company also emphasized the need for operational strategies to optimize profitability, acknowledging that competitors SK Hynix and Micron are aggressively ramping up mass production of 12-layer HBM3E, further intensifying market competition.
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