DRAM Market Reboots in Q2 2026: Samsung Retakes the Lead, Micron Narrows the Gap, and CXMT Charges Past 7% Share

SK Hynix Drops to 26% Despite 214% Revenue Growth

SK Hynix slipped to second place with a 26% revenue share, down sharply from 39% in Q2 2025 . This decline occurred even as the company posted a massive 214% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue . The divergence between revenue growth and share loss reflects a rotation in market mix: SK Hynix is the dominant player in HBM, which commands high prices but saw near-term pricing pressure as conventional DRAM prices surged. Samsung's diversified portfolio, weighted more heavily toward commodity DRAM, benefited from that price dynamic .

Micron Closes to Within 1 Point of Second Place

Micron Technology continued its momentum, posting a 25% global DRAM revenue share in Q2 2026, narrowing the gap with SK Hynix to just one percentage point . This represents the tightest spread between second and third place in recent memory . Korean media outlets describe this as mounting pressure on South Korean incumbents from the US rival .

CXMT: 716% Growth, 7% Share, and LPDDR6 on the Horizon

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) was the quarter's standout growth story, recording a 716% year-over-year revenue surge that lifted its global DRAM revenue share to 7% . That represents a dramatic leap from roughly 3–4% share in early 2025 and roughly 8% in Q1 2026 . According to Counterpoint's Neil Shah, CXMT's growth is fueled primarily by strong domestic demand from Chinese hyperscalers and phone makers . The company has secured a $2.94 billion DRAM deal with Tencent ahead of its Shanghai STAR Market IPO .

On LPDDR6, CXMT is nearing a critical milestone. R&D validation for a 16Gb LPDDR6 die at 12.8 Gbps is in its final stage, with mass production targeted for the second half of 2026 . The 12.8 Gbps speed is roughly 11% below the 14.4 Gbps ceiling that SK Hynix's EUV 1c process can reach, reflecting CXMT's DUV lithography constraints . CXMT has already shipped LPDDR6 samples to core customers . The company is also targeting HBM production by the end of 2026 .

AI Demand: The Structural Force Reshaping Rankings

AI infrastructure buildout was the structural driver behind nearly every shift in Q2 2026 . Accelerated deployment of AI servers and hyperscale data centers continued to push capacity utilization to maximum levels . HBM production is consuming an ever-larger share of total DRAM wafer capacity — TrendForce projects that HBM will account for 30% of all DRAM wafer input by the end of 2027, leaving supply able to meet only 60% of projected demand . UBS does not expect DRAM supply and demand to balance until Q2 2028 .

Both Micron and SK Hynix have signaled that their 2026 HBM production is effectively sold out. Micron's HBM production capacity for all of 2026 was already sold out by the end of 2025 , and SK Hynix has indicated its 2026 RAM production is essentially fully allocated .

Broader Market Context: Extreme Volatility and Record Pricing

Component markets tightened faster in Q2 2026 than at any point since the 2021–2022 shortage . Conventional DRAM contract prices rose 58–63% quarter-over-quarter in Q2, following a record 90–95% surge in Q1 . Commodity DDR4 8Gb chips hit an all-time high of $20 per unit in May 2026 .

Memory market volatility increased rather than eased through the first half of 2026 . Availability remains constrained across all major DRAM product categories, supplier flexibility remains limited, and pricing visibility continues to deteriorate . One key supply partner recently advised customers to plan for potential DRAM price increases of 10–20% per month through the end of 2026 . Despite strong results, Micron's stock experienced declines earlier in the year as markets weighed the sustainability of pricing .

Summary: Q2 2026 DRAM Revenue Shares

Note: Some early reports from Counterpoint vary slightly on the exact figure for SK Hynix (26% vs. 29% in certain Q1 references). The consensus across Korean, US, and Chinese sources for Q2 2026 revenue share is Samsung 39%, SK Hynix 26%, Micron 25%, CXMT 7% .