SEOUL — Samsung Electronics and SK hynix remained the two biggest players in the global NAND flash memory market in the second quarter of 2026, but a rapidly strengthening Chinese competitor is adding a new layer of pressure to the industry.
According to Counterpoint Research, global NAND market revenue jumped 70% quarter-on-quarter in Q2 2026, following a 90% increase in Q1. The latest surge was fueled largely by a sharp increase in NAND prices, with average prices rising 55% from the previous quarter.
Samsung retained the No. 1 position with 28% of global NAND revenue, while SK hynix ranked second with 19%. Together, the two South Korean semiconductor giants accounted for 47% of the global NAND market by revenue.
But the battle behind them is becoming much more interesting.
Micron climbs to No. 3
U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology moved into third place with a 15% revenue share, up from 13% in the first quarter.
Counterpoint attributed the broader market expansion to higher NAND prices, while other industry research shows that suppliers are increasingly benefiting from demand for higher-value enterprise storage products.
TrendForce reported that Samsung’s NAND revenue increased 70.7% quarter-on-quarter to nearly $23.06 billion in Q2. SK hynix Group, which includes Solidigm, recorded NAND revenue of more than $14.27 billion, an 89.5% quarterly increase. Micron posted the fastest growth among the major suppliers, with revenue reaching $11.85 billion, up 99.2% from the previous quarter.
The figures highlight an important shift: the current NAND boom is not simply about selling more memory chips. Higher prices and stronger demand for enterprise SSDs are dramatically increasing industry revenue.
AI servers are changing the NAND business
The biggest force behind the turnaround is artificial-intelligence infrastructure.
AI data centers require enormous amounts of high-capacity storage, particularly enterprise solid-state drives used to store and process increasingly large datasets.
TrendForce said AI server demand remained strong in Q2, particularly for enterprise SSDs, contributing to a supply shortage that gave NAND manufacturers greater pricing power. The research firm said the combined revenue of the world’s top five publicly listed NAND brands rose 77% quarter-on-quarter to $68.87 billion.
That trend is becoming even more pronounced in enterprise SSDs.
TrendForce estimated that revenue for the top five enterprise SSD suppliers reached approximately $37.59 billion in Q2, representing a massive 103.6% quarter-on-quarter increase. Samsung led that market with roughly $14.35 billion, followed by SK hynix Group at more than $8.63 billion.
TrendForce expects enterprise SSD demand to remain strong in the third quarter as generative AI services expand, cloud providers continue investing in data centers and NVIDIA’s latest AI server platforms drive additional storage requirements.
But China’s YMTC is becoming a bigger threat
While Samsung and SK hynix remain firmly in first and second place, China’s Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) is rapidly becoming one of the industry’s most important challengers.
Counterpoint put YMTC’s Q2 NAND revenue share at 14%, tying it with Japan’s Kioxia and placing it ahead of SanDisk’s 11%.
That represents a significant development because YMTC is gaining ground while the established leaders remain focused on profitability and increasingly valuable enterprise products.
South Korean media also highlighted the rise of YMTC. ChosunBiz reported that Samsung held 28% of the market by revenue and SK hynix 19%, while YMTC reached 14%. eDaily likewise reported that YMTC tied Kioxia for fourth place based on revenue.
Importantly, different market measurements can produce different rankings. Counterpoint’s revenue-share figures place Samsung at 28%, SK hynix at 19%, Micron at 15%, and Kioxia and YMTC at 14% each. Shipment-based measurements can differ because companies sell different product mixes and prices.
Samsung still leads—but its advantage is narrowing
Samsung’s leadership remains substantial, but its revenue share slipped from 29% in Q1 to 28% in Q2, according to Counterpoint.
SK hynix, meanwhile, increased its share from 18% to 19%. Micron made the biggest move among the major suppliers, climbing from 13% to 15%.
TrendForce’s figures tell a similar story of intensifying competition. Samsung remained No. 1, but SK hynix’s NAND business grew faster during the quarter, while Micron’s revenue growth was even stronger.
For Samsung and SK hynix, the challenge is therefore no longer simply protecting their positions. They must also make sure their technology mix keeps pace with the industry’s rapid shift toward AI-focused storage.
NAND prices are becoming a major story
The dramatic growth in market revenue also comes with a warning for consumers.
Counterpoint said NAND prices increased 55% quarter-on-quarter in Q2, following another major increase in Q1.
TrendForce said NAND capacity expansion remains constrained because manufacturers are directing significant capital expenditure toward other high-demand memory products, particularly DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM). That could keep supply tight and prices elevated.
For consumers, that could eventually translate into higher costs for SSDs and devices that rely heavily on NAND storage.
For manufacturers, however, the current environment is considerably more favorable: tight supply combined with strong AI-related enterprise demand is giving memory companies greater pricing power.
The next battle may be even bigger
The Q2 numbers show an industry undergoing a major transformation.
Samsung remains the global NAND leader. SK hynix remains firmly in second. Micron is gaining ground quickly. And YMTC is emerging as a serious challenger.
At the same time, AI data centers are changing what the industry values. Instead of relying primarily on smartphones, PCs and other consumer electronics, NAND suppliers are increasingly looking toward high-capacity enterprise SSDs and AI infrastructure as the industry’s key growth engine.
The bigger question now is whether Samsung and SK hynix can maintain their dominance as AI-driven demand reshapes the memory business—and whether YMTC’s rapid rise will eventually turn the race for NAND leadership into a much closer contest.
For now, Samsung still wears the crown. But the gap behind it is getting harder to ignore.
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