Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix: While Memory Prices Rise in 2024, HBM Competition Will Intensify

According to two South Korean memory suppliers’ earnings, DRAM prices rose by nearly 20% and NAND prices more than 30% sequentially in the March quarter, exceeding the forecasts we made three months ago. While memory suppliers continued to lower capacity utilization to reduce inventories, 1) demand for high-end memory, such as high bandwidth memory, remained robust and contributed to an improved product mix, and 2) smartphone manufacturers procured memory in anticipation of a memory price hike this year, creating a tight supply/demand situation.