CXMT’s DRAM Surge Sends Micron, SK Hynix Lower

Micron Technology and SK Hynix shares dropped after Counterpoint Research reported that ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT, held 10% of the global DRAM market in the second quarter of 2026, up from 4% a year earlier. Micron fell as much as 2.3% before trimming losses to about 0.8% down, while SK Hynix dropped roughly 4% at its session low and later recovered to around a 2% decline as major U.S. indexes rose.

Counterpoint’s Q2 breakdown showed a wider redistribution of DRAM share: Samsung increased to 38% from 33% year-on-year, Micron moved from 22% to 24%, and SK Hynix fell from 39% to 25%. CXMT’s share climbed from 8% in Q1 2026 to 10% in Q2.

The overall DRAM market expanded sharply in the quarter. Counterpoint reported a 57% increase quarter-on-quarter and a 385% rise year-on-year, attributing growth to strong memory demand from AI data centers using conventional DRAM for CPU workloads and rising adoption of high-bandwidth memory for GPU-based AI systems.

In the high-bandwidth memory segment, SK Hynix held the largest share at 50%, down from 64% a year earlier. Samsung’s share rose to 33% from 15%, while Micron’s HBM share fell to 18% from 21%. Counterpoint noted Samsung is ramping HBM4 shipments in the second half of the year.

Industry reports and supplier checks indicate CXMT has begun limited production of advanced HBM and plans to expand output in 2027. Alibaba’s T-Head unit and AI chip designer Cambricon are testing CXMT’s HBM with their processors, and successful tests could lead to product integration next year.

CXMT’s initial public offering raised 57.92 billion yuan, about $8.6 billion, and briefly elevated the company to one of China’s most valuable onshore-listed firms.

Reports that Apple tested CXMT memory and that U.S. regulators may permit Apple to source memory from Chinese suppliers added to investor concern in recent months.

KC Rajkumar of Lynx Equity Research reported channel checks finding CXMT qualified for one low-volume Mac product but not iPhones, and noted supply constraints and poor yields on the high-density LPDDR5x chips Apple requires. Ellie Wang of TrendForce observed that CXMT’s capabilities remain limited for high-capacity server memory and advanced AI-server products.

Neil Shah, vice president at Counterpoint Research, urged watching how CXMT uses IPO proceeds to expand capacity for HBM and next-generation LPDDR6, saying expanded capacity and successful product qualifications could materially change market shares. Counterpoint estimated Micron’s DRAM revenue has increased about fivefold since Q2 2025.

Analysts and market trackers reported that capacity additions, product qualifications and long-term supply agreements will shape which suppliers capture demand from the growing AI infrastructure market.