In the second quarter of this year, global NAND flash sales increased by approximately 22% compared to the previous quarter. This is analyzed to be influenced by production cuts from memory semiconductor corporations and support policies from the Chinese and U.S. governments.
According to market research firm TrendForce on the 28th, the combined sales of the top five NAND brands worldwide in the second quarter recorded $14.67 billion, a 22% increase compared to the first quarter. TrendForce noted, "Although the average selling price (ASP) of NAND slightly decreased, the production cuts from suppliers affected the supply-demand imbalance, and the support policies from China and the U.S. stimulated demand." It added, "As a result, the overall bit shipments significantly increased." However, in the third quarter of this year, demand for NAND is expected to stabilize as the inventory accumulation effects from China's subsidies and U.S. tariffs gradually weaken.
In the second quarter, Samsung Electronics recorded NAND sales of $5.2 billion, an increase of 23.8% from the previous quarter. Strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and server eSSD, along with inventory reduction, contributed to this growth. The market share remained at 32.9%, maintaining its leading position. SK hynix, together with the mass production of 321-layer NAND flash in the second quarter and a surge in eSSD shipments from Solidigm, recorded a record-high NAND sales of $3.34 billion, which is a 52.5% increase compared to the previous quarter. Notably, the market share rose from 16.6% in the first quarter to 21.1% in the second quarter.
Kioxia and Micron both increased their shipments in the second quarter, recording sales of $2.14 billion and $2.1 billion, respectively. However, their market shares decreased by 1.1 percentage points and 2.1 percentage points, respectively, compared to the previous quarter. Kioxia, which was in fourth place in the first quarter, surpassed Micron to take third place.