Seoul: SK hynix Co. has surpassed domestic competitor Samsung Electronics Co. in global dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market share for the first time in the first quarter, helped by the rapid expansion of the high bandwidth memory (HBM) market, industry data showed Thursday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, data from global market research firm Omdia revealed that global DRAM sales totaled US$26.33 billion in the January-March period, marking a 9 percent decline from the previous quarter. This downturn was attributed to falling DRAM contract prices and a decrease in HBM shipments.

Despite the overall market decline, SK hynix's market share increased from 36 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 36.9 percent in the first quarter of this year. This growth allowed SK hynix to overtake Samsung Electronics, whose market share fell from 38.6 percent to 34.4 percent during the same period.

In terms of sales, SK hynix posted $9.72 billion in the first quarter, while Samsung trailed with $9.1 billion. This achievement marks the first time SK hynix has claimed the top spot in the DRAM market share since Samsung became the global leader in 1992.

Other market trackers, including Counterpoint Research and TrendForce, have also ranked SK hynix as the No. 1 DRAM supplier in the first quarter with a 36 percent share.

Omdia noted that the DRAM market landscape is being reshaped by the rapid expansion of the HBM sector. Both SK hynix and Micron have significantly increased the share of HBM in their product portfolios. Omdia projected that SK hynix will increase the share of 12-layer HBM3E to over 50 percent of its HBM shipments in the second quarter and over 80 percent by the second half of this year.