Samsung widened its lead in the global DRAM market in the second quarter of 2026, taking 39% of sales and extending its run at the top for a third consecutive quarter, according to Counterpoint Research. SK Hynix followed with 26%, while Micron held 25% and CXMT 7%, underscoring how tightly the sector remains clustered even as Samsung pulled further ahead.
The latest figures build on Samsung’s momentum in the first quarter, when it was the only one of the top three memory makers to increase share, rising to 38.6% from 36.5% in the previous quarter, according to reports from SamMobile and Gizmochina. Those accounts said Samsung’s recovery was helped by stronger demand for AI-oriented memory and by higher pricing across the DRAM market, which also allowed the company to regain the industry lead.
Counterpoint said the second-quarter advance was fueled by rising prices for general-purpose DRAM and by Samsung’s growing exposure to high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, a segment that has become central to the AI buildout. That advantage came even as average HBM3E prices eased and the rollout of HBM4 was delayed, suggesting Samsung benefited from breadth across the memory market as well as from its positioning in AI-linked products. Industry projections cited by Tom’s Hardware point to another jump in DRAM contract prices in the third quarter, while recent reports have also pointed to tightening supply as data center demand absorbs more capacity.
The broader memory squeeze is beginning to affect adjacent markets as well. Counterpoint Research has said global smartphone shipments fell in the second quarter, with memory shortages among the factors weighing on demand, while Samsung still managed to reclaim the top spot in handsets. That combination highlights a familiar pattern for the company: when memory pricing strengthens, Samsung tends to gain leverage across multiple businesses at once, even as the rest of the market feels the strain.
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