Latest research from TrendForce reveals that the memory industry's overall DRAM revenue climbed 59.5% quarter-over-quarter to roughly $154.73 billion in the second quarter of 2026. This robust growth was fueled by a notable uptick in conventional DRAM contract prices.

The surge in AI server demand, driven by LLM model training and inference workloads, boosted shipments of HBM3e, LPDDR5X, and high-capacity RDIMMs. Meanwhile, Agentic AI applications spurred additional procurement of RDIMMs across various capacity tiers. On the supply side, manufacturers' inventories remain at rock-bottom levels, with new output prioritizing server applications, which contributed to a modest increase in overall DRAM bit shipments during the quarter.

Looking ahead to the third quarter, bit shipments are expected to grow slightly, but price momentum may cool. Some demand for high-capacity RDIMM is shifting toward mid- and low-capacity products, and PC and smartphone clients have limited tolerance for further price hikes. Consequently, conventional DRAM contract prices are projected to rise by a narrower 13-18% quarter-over-quarter, with consumer DRAM seeing the steepest increases as manufacturers significantly curtail supply.

Samsung led the pack in Q2, achieving the highest bit shipment growth among the top three manufacturers thanks to its early mass production and shipment of HBM4. The company's average selling price (ASP) also climbed sharply, pushing quarterly revenue up 63.4% to $60.98 billion and securing a market share of 39.4%, ranking first.

SK hynix secured the second spot with quarterly revenue of $38.59 billion, up 37.9% quarter-over-quarter. However, its market share dipped slightly to 24.9%. This was largely because HBM accounts for the highest proportion of its total bit shipments among the top three players, which capped ASP growth.

Micron (MU.US) continued to emphasize high-priced server DRAM in its product mix due to capacity constraints. The company's Q2 revenue jumped 65.5% to $36 billion, with market share edging up to 23.3%.

Over the 2026-2027 period, the three major manufacturers plan to increase bit supply primarily through faster adoption of advanced process nodes. Expansion of wafer starts will be modest, achieved through optimized production flows, acquisition of cleanroom space, and reallocating cleanroom capacity from other product lines.

In contrast, Nanya, Winbond, and PSMC focus on mature process products, and their Q2 momentum was supported by demand unmet by the top three manufacturers as they transition to advanced nodes. Nanya saw substantial gains in DDR4 and DDR3 contract prices, driving quarterly revenue up 68.3% to $2.612 billion. Winbond grew 75.8% quarter-over-quarter to $998 million. PSMC, whose revenue calculation primarily covers its consumer DRAM products, reached $115 million in Q2, representing a striking 167.8% sequential increase. Including its foundry revenue, the growth was 54% quarter-over-quarter. Once PSMC secures process technology licensing from Micron, it is expected to aggressively pursue the next wave of supply expansion.