Samsung Electronics has revealed its Q1 2026 earnings and the South Korean brand has managed to end the first quarter with a historic high. Despite the ongoing RAM crisis, it has managed to gain the top spot in the global semiconductor business, fueled by strong demand for DRAM.
Samsung Is Now the Top DRAM Supplier in the World
South Korean news outlet Yonhap News Agency has reported that Samsung's semiconductor business has managed to lead the global DRAM demand in Q1 2026. It is the only top player in the market currently supplying both consumer products and enterprises.
It has posted a record DRAM revenue of $97.1 billion in Q1 2026 with $37.4 billion generated in the first month alone. This is an 85.3% increase on a year-on year basis, compared to its Q4 2025 DRAM revenue.
As a result, the South Korean brand has also managed to raise its market share from 36.5% to 38.6%. However, this increase in revenue and market share has not come without its investments. The report reveals that Samsung made around $59.2 billion on semiconductor capital and R&D in 2025.
Compared to that, it has already made semiconductor related investments worth of $60 billion in the first six months of 2026 alone. This has helped it not only combat the Samsung semiconductor business avert loss, but has also allowed it to shoot past the likes of TSMC, SK Hynix and Micron.
For context, TSMC has now slipped to fourth place, with SK Hynix being second with $28 billion in revenue and 28.8% fall in market share. Micron Technology managed to retain its third position but slipped to 22.4% market share and posted $21.7 billion in revenue.
All in all, Samsung's memory division has managed to pull off a solid Q1 quarter in 2026 and is expected to keep the momentum going. This is impressive considering the fact that global consumer DRAM demand has dipped exponentially. Hence, by helping the AI infrastructure maintain its DRAM and NAND needs, Samsung has managed to grow despite major market hurdles.
