마이크론은 2026년 2분기 DRAM 매출 성장률이 가장 빠르게 증가했으며, SK하이닉스의 HBM 선점 지위가 오히려 부담으로 작용했다는 분석이 나왔다.

The logo for Micron Technology was displayed at its San Jose headquarters on June 25, 2025. Semiconductor manufacturer Micron Technology will report third-quarter earnings following the market close.

The global DRAM industry generated $154.73 billion in total revenue from April to June 2026, marking a 59.5% sequential surge that few analysts predicted even two years prior. Beneath this aggregate figure lies a shifting competitive landscape: for the first time during the current supercycle, Micron Technology recorded a higher quarterly revenue growth rate than both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. According to TrendForce’s Q2 revenue report, Micron grew 65.5% quarter-on-quarter, outpacing Samsung’s 63.4% and SK Hynix’s 37.9%. Coupled with Micron’s recently completed $1.8 billion acquisition of a 300,000-square-foot (27,871 sq m) cleanroom facility in Taiwan, the quarter signals that the decade-long revenue hierarchy among the industry’s Big Three is entering a period of genuine competitive flux.

What Samsung's Fastest Bit Shipment Growth Actually Means

Samsung Electronics topped the revenue charts with $60.98 billion in Q2 2026, capturing a 39.4% market share. TrendForce attributed this performance directly to Samsung recording the strongest bit shipment growth among the three major suppliers. A key driver was Samsung’s early transition into HBM4 mass production, which commenced in February 2026. The sixth-generation standard doubles the memory interface width from 1,024 to 2,048 bits and commands a manufacturing premium over conventional DDR5.

Within the HBM segment—the 3D-stacked memory architecture powering every large-scale AI accelerator—Samsung’s revenue share jumped from 21% in Q1 2026 to 33% in Q2. According to Counterpoint’s global HBM tracker, this narrowed SK Hynix’s lead from 37 percentage points to 17. Samsung’s HBM4 reliability has also improved significantly since mass production began; yields rose from below 60% at launch in February to approximately 80% by August, per reports from the Seoul Economic Daily.

Why SK Hynix's HBM Leadership Became a Q2 Liability

SK Hynix ranked second in Q2 revenue with $38.59 billion, representing a 24.9% market share—a sharp decline from 28.8% in Q1. However, this drop does not indicate fundamental competitive weakness. SK Hynix still controls roughly 50% of the global HBM market by revenue in Q2 2026, and its record 76% operating margin on total revenue of ₩79.3 trillion (approximately $59.0 billion) underscores strong pricing power. The issue was purely one of timing.

SK Hynix secured its AI customer agreements—primarily with Nvidia—earlier than its rivals, locking in pricing before the dramatic surge in conventional DRAM contract prices that characterized Q2. While server DDR5 and other conventional memory products jumped 58–63% quarter-on-quarter, SK Hynix’s HBM revenue recognized only the pre-negotiated contract rates rather than prevailing spot market prices. Consequently, the company’s market share erosion was essentially the arithmetic cost of finalizing supply agreements prematurely.

Counterpoint Research Director MS Hwang explicitly characterized this dynamic: "Although SK Hynix registered record earnings sequentially and annually, it grew slower than the competition as its market share declined with Samsung and Micron squeezing from both ends," he noted in Counterpoint’s Q2 2026 analysis. Within the HBM segment specifically, SK Hynix’s revenue share dropped from 58% in Q1 to 50% in Q2 as Samsung’s HBM4 production ramp accelerated.

How Micron Grew Faster Than Both Rivals — and Why That's Structurally Significant

Micron reported Q2 revenue of $36.0 billion, a 65.5% quarter-on-quarter increase that lifted its market share to 23.3%. This growth rate exceeded Samsung’s 63.4% and more than doubled SK Hynix’s 37.9%.

Micron’s outperformance stems from a deliberate strategic choice: prioritizing conventional server DRAM—specifically DDR5 RDIMMs and high-capacity server modules—within its product mix despite capacity constraints. Because conventional server DRAM operates on shorter contract cycles than HBM supply agreements, Micron captured a larger portion of Q2’s price surge. SK Hynix, by contrast, saw delayed price recognition due to its longer-term HBM contracts. Counterpoint Research data confirms that Micron’s HBM share actually contracted from 21% to 18% in Q2, indicating that its entire growth trajectory was driven by conventional server memory rather than its highest-margin products.

The revenue gap between SK Hynix and Micron narrowed to approximately $2.59 billion, down significantly from previous quarters. Under Counterpoint Research’s alternative methodology—which applies slightly different revenue allocation conventions—the gap shrank even further to roughly 1 percentage point of market share, or about $259 million. On August 4, Citrini analyst Jukan observed that, according to Counterpoint data, "SK Hynix leads Micron by only about 1 percentage point in terms of revenue."

Hwang reiterated that "Samsung and Micron are squeezing from both ends." Meanwhile, Counterpoint VP of Research Neil Shah stated in the firm’s Q2 DRAM analysis that Micron "is now a real contender for the number two position, provided it has the capacity to back up the demand."

Micron's $1.8 Billion Fab Acquisition: The Capacity That Changes the Math

The capacity constraint highlighted by Shah has a direct solution: the former Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (PSMC) P5 fabrication site in Tongluo, Taiwan.

Micron finalized the acquisition of the Tongluo site on March 15, 2026, for $1.8 billion, securing 300,000 square feet (27,871 sq m) of existing 300mm cleanroom space. Located approximately 15 miles (24 km) from Micron’s vertically integrated mega-campus in Taichung, the facility enables direct operational synergies across both sites. Equipment installation commenced on March 26, 2026.

At the acquisition closing, Manish Bhatia, Micron’s Executive Vice President of Global Operations, stated: "Memory is a strategic asset that dictates AI product performance, and the acquisition and phased ramp of this site strengthens our ability to capitalize on these significant opportunities." TrendForce projects that Phase 1 of the Tongluo ramp will increase Micron’s capacity by over 10% relative to Q4 2026 levels, commencing in the second half of 2027. Additionally, Micron is breaking ground on a second cleanroom at the site—approximately 270,000 square feet (25,084 sq m)—targeted for completion by the end of its fiscal year 2026.

The competitive implications for SK Hynix are direct. Under TrendForce’s methodology, SK Hynix’s Q2 revenue lead over Micron stood at approximately $2.59 billion—a margin of roughly 7.2%. If Micron expands its capacity by more than 10% through the Tongluo site alone while maintaining its focus on higher-average-selling-price (ASP) server DRAM, the revenue gap with SK Hynix will become a decisive competitive battleground by late 2027.

What PSMC's 167.8% Surge Reveals About the Mature-Node Supply Chain

The competitive realignment among the Big Three has produced an unexpected beneficiary at the lower tier of the market hierarchy: PSMC. The Taiwanese foundry reported DRAM revenue of $115 million in Q2 2026, a 167.8% quarter-on-quarter increase—the highest growth rate among all major DRAM suppliers.

PSMC’s surge reflects a structural supply gap. As Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron shift production toward advanced nodes and prioritize wafer starts for server and HBM applications, mature-node DRAM—specifically DDR4 and DDR3 used in mid-range consumer devices—has become structurally undersupplied. Nanya Technology experienced identical tailwinds, posting 68.3% revenue growth to reach $2.612 billion in Q2, while Winbond recorded comparable gains. Customers unable to secure allocations from the Big Three are increasingly turning to Taiwanese specialty suppliers, granting them pricing leverage previously unseen in standard market cycles.

PSMC’s market position is poised to evolve further under its agreement with Micron. TrendForce confirmed that PSMC will receive a 1Ynm process license from Micron, marking a substantial upgrade from its current 25nm and 38nm capabilities. This license will allow PSMC to manufacture denser DDR4 modules at higher margins, solidifying its competitive standing in the consumer DRAM segment without directly competing with Micron’s advanced DDR5 and HBM product lines.

The HBM Architecture That Drives It All — and What It Costs the Market

Understanding Q2 2026’s competitive dynamics requires accounting for a critical engineering constraint: manufacturing a single HBM4 module consumes roughly triple the wafer capacity required to produce an equivalent volume of conventional DDR5 DRAM. This disparity is structural. HBM4 stacks 16 individual DRAM dies vertically within a single package, compared to the 12 dies used in the HBM3E generation, which currently dominates deployed AI accelerators. Each die is ground down to approxima