In the first quarter of 2026, the global memory industry entered an AI-driven structural upcycle, with the market still dominated by sellers. On the demand side, AI computing infrastructure development and Agentic AI applications drove the gradual rollout of long-term agreements (LTAs) for data centers. HBM, server DRAM, and enterprise SSDs took priority in capacity allocation, while consumer and mobile demand was passively suppressed. On the supply side, original manufacturers continued to optimize their product mix, shifting toward high-value-added AI memory, while the lead time for bringing new effective capacity online remained long. As a result, a short-term supply-demand gap persisted.
Driven by supply-demand mismatches, contract prices for DRAM and NAND rose significantly quarter-on-quarter, and the bargaining power of original manufacturers improved markedly. The tight-supply-driven price increase pattern remained highly sustainable. According to CFM analysis, the global DRAM/NAND Flash market size reached US$137.14 billion in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 81.6% quarter-on-quarter and 245% year-on-year, setting a new all-time quarterly high.
1Q26 Global DRAM Market Size Reaches US$94.325 Billion, Up 81.5% Quarter-on-Quarter
The surge in data center demand has already led to tight DRAM supply. HBM occupying most of the production capacity further squeezes other DRAM supply, driving a substantial increase in ASPs of DDR/LPDDR products in Q1. Currently, the profit margin of general-purpose DDR has surpassed that of HBM.
Specifically,
Samsung posted DRAM sales revenue of US$38.214 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 98.4% quarter-on-quarter, with a market share of 40.5%, further widening its share gap with other suppliers and ranking first.
SK hynix posted DRAM sales revenue of US$27.925 billion in the first quarter. Due to its relatively high proportion of HBM supply, its total revenue grew 62.1% quarter-on-quarter, lower than other suppliers. It held a market share of 29.6%, ranking second.
Micron posted DRAM sales revenue of US$18.768 billion in the first quarter (December 2025 – February 2026), an increase of 73.6% quarter-on-quarter, with a market share of 19.9%, ranking third.
CXMT posted DRAM sales revenue of US$7.309 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 115.1% quarter-on-quarter, with its market share further rising to 7.7%, ranking fourth.
Nanya Technology posted DRAM sales revenue of US$1.547 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 59.2% quarter-on-quarter, with a market share of 1.6%.
Winbond Electronics posted DRAM sales revenue of US$562 million in the first quarter, an increase of 88.2% quarter-on-quarter, with a market share of 0.6%.
1Q26 Global NAND Flash Market Size Reaches US$42.815 Billion, Up 81.8% Quarter-on-Quarter
Enterprise SSD demand doubled and continues to accelerate. Although consumer demand showed signs of weakness, it did not change the overall supply shortage. The sharp QoQ increase in NAND ASP in 1Q26 drove the global NAND Flash market size to a consecutive 81.8% QoQ growth.
Specifically,
Samsung saw its overall enterprise NAND bit shipments grow more than 20% QoQ in the first quarter, driving total NAND Flash sales revenue to US$12.72 billion, an increase of 100.3% QoQ, with a market share of 29.7%, ranking first.
SK hynix posted NAND Flash sales revenue of US$7.518 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 44.2% QoQ, with a market share of 17.6%, ranking second.
Kioxia posted NAND Flash sales revenue of US$6.38 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 81.0% QoQ, with a market share of 14.9%, ranking third.
Sandisk saw its data center business grow 233% QoQ in the first quarter, driving total NAND Flash sales revenue to US$5.95 billion, an increase of 96.7% QoQ, with a market share of 13.9%, ranking fourth.
Micron posted NAND Flash sales revenue of US$4.997 billion in the first quarter (December 2025 – February 2026), an increase of 82.2% QoQ, with a market share of 11.7%, ranking fifth.
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