The NAND flash memory market is expanding rapidly on the back of rising prices. According to a compilation released by Counterpoint Research on September 2, market revenue in the second quarter of 2026 (April–June) grew 70% quarter-on-quarter, while prices rose 55%. Samsung retained the top spot with a 28% revenue share, and Micron moved into third place, based on Counterpoint's quarterly tally.
However, Samsung's share actually declined from the previous quarter. Growing the overall market and increasing one's own slice of it are two different things. Behind this lies a structure in which demand is concentrated on high-capacity SSDs for AI servers, meaning revenue growth varies significantly depending on what a company sells.
The "55% Price Increase" and SSD Retail Prices
According to Counterpoint's data, the market had already grown 90% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter. This latest 70% increase comes on top of that already sharp rise. That said, what's expanding here is revenue — it does not mean that shipped storage capacity grew by the same proportion.
NAND is the storage medium used in products like SSDs. Revenue is affected not just by how much capacity was shipped, but also by the price at which that capacity was sold and which types of products sold the most. If high-priced server products increase, revenue can grow faster than the growth in shipped capacity.
While the published page states that "prices rose 55% quarter-on-quarter," it does not disclose how the price index was calculated or how individual products were weighted. This figure cannot be equated with the price increase rate of any specific SSD or with retail price increases in Japan. One should also avoid trying to back-calculate the growth rate of shipped capacity from the gap between revenue growth and price growth.
What matters to PC users is how NAND procurement costs feed through into product prices. In its price outlook released on July 3, TrendForce said that as products using higher-cost components enter inventory, upward pressure will also extend to notebook PC retail prices. There is a difference in both scope and timing between movements in the component market and the price tags on finished products.
Samsung's Lead and Micron's Growth
Comparing revenue shares from the same survey across two quarters reveals how each company's position shifted. The chart below uses Counterpoint's published figures as-is.
- Q1
- Q2
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| Q1 (%) | Q2 (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung | 29 | 28 |
| SK hynix | 18 | 19 |
| Micron | 13 | 15 |
| Kioxia | 14 | 14 |
| YMTC | 13 | 14 |
| SanDisk | 13 | 11 |
Samsung's share fell from 29% to 28%, while Micron's rose from 13% to 15%. Kioxia and YMTC are both shown at 14%, but rounded figures do not allow us to determine fine differences or confirm a tie.
It would also be premature to interpret Samsung's declining share as a sign of deteriorating business performance. In its earnings announcement on July 30, the company explained that by prioritizing its limited supply capacity for server applications — combined with rising prices — its memory business achieved record-high quarterly revenue and operating profit. It also said that the share of server-related sales within its revenue mix hit a record high.
This explanation covers the memory business as a whole, including DRAM and HBM, and does not represent NAND profitability alone. Even so, it illustrates that maintaining market share and maximizing profit don't always move in the same direction. Companies facing production capacity constraints are simultaneously expanding sales volume while also choosing which customers and applications to prioritize for supply.
Enterprise SSDs Account for 48% of NAND Shipment Capacity
The scale of AI-driven demand is reflected in shipment volumes by application. According to shipment trend data published by Counterpoint on August 12, enterprise SSDs accounted for 48% of total NAND bit shipments in the second quarter, up from 26% in the same period a year earlier.
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| Enterprise SSD (%) | |
|---|---|
| Same period last year | 26 |
| Q2 2026 | 48 |
In effect, nearly half of all shipped storage capacity went toward enterprise SSDs. Since this is measured by capacity rather than unit count, it more clearly captures demand for high-capacity products.
The difference between shipment volume and revenue also shows up in vendor rankings. In the same August survey, YMTC ranked third in bit shipments but only fifth in revenue. Counterpoint attributes this to the company's product mix being skewed toward consumer products, with fewer high-priced datacenter SSDs. The revenue compilation updated in September and the shipment ranking published in August need to be read separately, given their differing publication dates and metrics.
The growth in enterprise products is also confirmed by a separate survey. In a study of enterprise SSDs released on September 1, TrendForce estimated that combined second-quarter revenue for the top five vendors totaled $37.59 billion, up 103.6% quarter-on-quarter. It noted that Samsung's mix shifted further toward high-capacity products and PCIe 5.0 offerings, while Micron's enterprise SSD revenue reportedly reached roughly $6.98 billion, up 126.3%.
This growth in enterprise SSDs offers a strong explanation for Micron's rising revenue share. That said, TrendForce's enterprise SSD revenue figures cannot simply be added to or divided against Counterpoint's overall market data to derive a share breakdown, since the two surveys differ in scope and methodology.
When Will PC Supply Ease?
When suppliers prioritize servers, NAND procurement for PCs and smartphones doesn't necessarily ease quickly even if demand in those segments is weak. Samsung itself has indicated that even as it works to increase production in the second half of the year, supply constraints are expected to persist.
As of July 3, TrendForce forecast that NAND contract prices in the third quarter (July–September) would rise 10–15% quarter-on-quarter. A slower pace of price increases is not the same as a forecast of price declines. Moreover, this is a forecast for quarterly contract prices, not a prediction for the prices of individual retail SSDs.
Ramping up production also takes time. In its mid-term outlook released on July 21, TrendForce said that due to constraints on fab space combined with capital expenditure being prioritized for DRAM, NAND manufacturers plan to increase shipment capacity mainly by upgrading manufacturing processes on existing lines. While there are ways to expand supply besides building new fabs, the firm does not expect supply to catch up with demand in the short term.
On the other hand, TrendForce estimates that smartphones and notebook PCs together account for roughly 40% of NAND demand. Even with strong AI server demand, weak consumer demand can still sway the overall supply-demand balance of the market. TrendForce's forecast that supply shortages will ease in the second half of 2027 factors in not only process upgrades and production increases but also this weakness in consumer demand.
Going forward, the key indicators to watch are whether enterprise SSD revenue continues to grow, how much shipment capacity increases, and whether procurement conditions for PCs change as a result. Once improvements in component supply are confirmed to be reaching finished-product inventories, it will become clearer when the NAND market boom might actually translate into relief for end users.