DRAM revenue rises 81% in the first quarter

The DRAM industry recorded revenue of $97 billion in the first quarter of 2026, an 81% increase from the previous quarter, driven by a rapid rise in contract prices for conventional DRAM. According to TrendForce, these prices increased between 93% and 98% compared to the prior quarter. The price increase is driven by a shift in AI infrastructure deployment. As AI applications evolve from training large language models to large-scale inference, cloud service providers are expanding server deployments from AI-specific configurations to general-purpose servers, broadening memory procurement needs beyond HBM3e and LPDDR5X to include a wider range of RDIMM capacities. Consequently, conventional DRAM demand has strengthened considerably at a time when supplier inventories are at extremely low levels. Supply pressure is expected to continue. Additional capacity available in the second quarter remains largely allocated to high-capacity RDIMM modules for AI servers, limiting product availability for PC manufacturers and smartphone suppliers. TrendForce forecasts conventional DRAM contract prices will increase an additional 58% to 63% in the second quarter of 2026 quarter over quarter. Cloud service providers' willingness to accept price increases has also led other customers to do the same to secure supply allocations. Samsung maintained the top position in the first quarter with revenue of $37.32 billion, up 93.4% quarter over quarter, raising its market share to 38.5%. SK Hynix ranked second with $27.98 billion, up 62.5%, though average selling price growth was partially constrained by falling contract prices for HBM memory. Micron ranked third with $21.75 billion, up 81.6%, maintaining a stable market share of 22.4%. Among Taiwanese manufacturers, Nanya significantly reduced inventories during the quarter, while a strong rise in DDR4 and DDR3 contract prices boosted its revenue 60% to $1.55 billion. Winbond increased shipments of DDR4 and LPDDR4, raising revenue 91.4% to nearly $568 million. TrendForce notes that manufacturers will primarily rely on process migrations to increase bit production in 2026, given limited available supply and the time required to build new cleanrooms. Nikolaos Florous of Memphis Electronic will participate in Evertiq Expo Berlin on June 18, 2026, where he will present the talk "The Global Memory Market Reset," analyzing how AI-driven demand, geopolitical factors, and rising capital intensity are transforming supply and pricing in the global memory market