Samsung, Hynix & Elpida lead 4Q-DRAM ranking

With preliminary results in, DRAM revenue for the South Korean electronics giant in the fourth quarter of 2010 amounted to USD 3.6 billion, equivalent to 41.7% share of an USD 8.7 billion market. And though revenue in Samsung’s case dropped during that quarter—as it did for all DRAM companies, without exception—Samsung’s share actually rose 1 percentage point compared to the third quarter, when total market revenue hit USD 10.7 billion. Samsung retained its perch at the top of the DRAM heap as last year came to a close, with seven other companies fighting for the remaining three-fifths of the market. Another winner during the quarter was No. 4 Micron Technology, whose revenue dipped only 3% for the period. The Idaho-based firm finally began to see significant shipments being counted from its purchase of a stake in Taiwan’s Inotera Memories a few years ago. Micron’s market share edged up to 12.5% in the fourth quarter, up from 10.5% in the third quarter. © IHS iSuppli Other noteworthy players included No. 2 Hynix Semiconductor of South Korea, which has held approximately 22.0% market share for eight consecutive quarters; and third-ranked Elpida Memory of Japan, which suffered the biggest drop in revenue in the fourth quarter, down 35% to USD 1.1 billion and 13.0% share. One thing is clear: As the dynamic DRAM industry continues its wild and volatile ride, market share among companies when this year ends will be significantly different from that of last year, IHS iSuppli believes.