Samsung DRAM Market Share Hits 10-Year Low

Samsung Electronics' 2025 half-year report shows its global DRAM market share fell to 32.7% in H1 2025, down from 41.5% a year earlier—an 8.8-point drop that has raised concerns over its long-standing leadership in memory.

This marks the first time in nearly ten years that Samsung's DRAM share has slipped below the 40% threshold. The company previously hit its peak in 2016 with 48% share, but has since seen a gradual decline.

Industry analysts link this downturn to weaker demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a key technology powering AI accelerators. Samsung is currently undergoing qualification tests with major partners in hopes of securing large-scale HBM orders to stabilize its position.

While DRAM stumbled, other business units showed resilience. Samsung's smartphone share climbed to 19.9% in the first half of 2025, up 1.6% year-on-year, while TV market share inched up to 28.9%. By contrast, smartphone display share slipped to 39.9% from 41%, and digital cockpit systems eased slightly to 12.1%.

On the revenue side, the Americas led with ₩33.4 trillion (≈USD 24B) in exports. China followed with ₩28.8 trillion, down about 11% from last year, while Asia-Pacific & Africa brought in ₩20.8 trillion and Europe ₩15.8 trillion.

Within the Device eXperience (DX) unit, average selling prices of mobile application processors rose 12% and camera modules climbed 8% compared with 2024.

In leadership compensation, Vice Chairman and DS division head Jun Young-hyun earned ₩1.19 billion, while MX business president TM Roh received ₩1.195 billion in the first half of 2025.

Samsung also continued its strong push in R&D, investing ₩18 trillion and filing 5,005 patents in Korea and 4,594 in the U.S. during the period.