Samsung is the leader in the DRAM and NAND flash semiconductor markets, and it has managed to maintain its lead in the previous quarter. According to a new report from market research firm TrendForce, Samsung was the biggest NAND flash brand in the world with a market share of 33.1%, which is higher than its market share from Q2 2020.
During the third quarter of 2020, Samsung's revenue from its NAND flash business was $4.8 billion, which is a 5.9% quarter-on-quarter improvement. However, the company's ASP (average selling price) dropped 10% as the overall demand was affected by inventory reduction efforts by its clients. The company managed to offset the price decline by increasing the shipments.
Kioxia, which is Samsung's biggest rival, had a market share of 21.4% in Q3 2020. Western Digital's market share was 14.3%, SK Hynix's market share was 11.3%, Micron's market share was 10.5%, and Intel's market share was 7.9%.
Huawei was compelled to buy NAND flash chips for one last time before it was cut off from Samsung following the US sanctions. Even Apple made a huge order of storage chips before the launch of the iPhone 12 series, which benefitted Samsung's business.
A majority of the company's revenue still comes from its 92-layer NAND flash chips that come from its V5 line, but the company is stepping up efforts to get more clients for its 128-layer SSDs and UFS chips. The transition from Samsung's V5 to V6 lines will be more pronounced in 2021. The company will continue to expand its Xi'an manufacturing base and it has plans to manufacture 176-layer and 192-layer chips.
