According to TrendForce data cited by Yonhap News, Samsung's DRAM revenues declined in Q1 2020 in no small part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But despite these hurdles, Samsung managed to remain dominant in the global DRAM market throughout the January-March period and even boosted its market share.
Samsung's global DRAM market share stood at 43.5% last quarter after a 1.6% drop from Q3 2019. But although the COVID-19 pandemic left a mark on the global economy, the Korean giant was able to improve its market share by 0.6% in Q1 2020. Its DRAM solutions covered 44.1% of the market at the end of March. The company was followed by SK hynix with a 29.3% market share, and Micro Technology with a 20.8% share.
DRAM revenues declined, but they should rebound in Q2 2020
Although Samsung's market share increased, the recent shift in global economics did affect revenues for the company and its rivals. Shipments have declined, prices have increased, and the global DRAM industry saw a 4.6% quarter-on-quarter revenue decline in Q1 2020. Nevertheless, market researchers believe that DRAM revenues will increase more than 20% in Q2 2020 as the average selling price of DRAM chips should increase.
TrendForce estimates market shares to remain largely unchanged in the next quarter, meaning that Samsung will continue to dominate the segment. The total DRAM production capacity won't experience significant growth throughout the year either, as none of the major DRAM manufacturers plan to change their output capacity.
