Global revenue from DRAM memory chips surged 369% year on year in the third quarter of 2026 to nearly $200 billion, according to Counterpoint Research, as demand from AI data centres pushed prices to record highs. The figures, published on 5 November and covered again this week, show a market being driven by price rises rather than by selling more chips.

Bit shipments rose only about 4% in the quarter, Counterpoint said, while the average selling price climbed to $1.90 per gigabit. The research firm described the boom as a pricing super-cycle rather than a volume cycle, with buyers now competing to secure supply instead of negotiating on price. DDR memory revenue rose about 500% from a year earlier and LPDDR revenue about 400%, while high-bandwidth memory revenue nearly doubled but still lost share of the total.

Samsung leads as profits soar

Samsung kept the top spot with a 38% share of DRAM revenue, ahead of SK hynix on 29% and Micron on 21%. SK hynix grew fastest, with revenue up more than 40% on the previous quarter, and the firm reported an operating profit of 83 trillion won, up 632% year on year. The contract price of a single 16Gb DDR5 chip climbed from $8.70 in October 2025 to $48 by September 2026, according to figures cited by Fortune.

The squeeze is already reaching buyers. Average laptop and desktop prices rose by double-digit percentages across Europe over the summer, and PC shipments fell as vendors struggled to secure supplies. TrendForce expects conventional DRAM contract prices to rise a further 10% to 15% in the final quarter of 2026, and Counterpoint expects shortages to continue, with new large semiconductor factories not starting operations until 2028.

Sources: Counterpoint Research, Wilson's Media