Memory prices surged dramatically in the first quarter of 2026, with Samsung and SK Hynix reporting average selling price increases of roughly 146 percent year-over-year. The jump reflects strong demand across DRAM and NAND segments.
SK Hynix reports mid-60% DRAM ASP growth
SK Hynix saw its DRAM ASP rise by the mid-60 percent quarter-over-quarter, while NAND ASP climbed by the mid-70 percent despite a 10 percent decline in bit shipments. Samsung's mobile memory costs for its DX division rose about 107 percent compared to the 2025 annual average.
Samsung began mass production of HBM4 in February 2026, using 1c DRAM and a 4nm base die. SK Hynix targets HBM4E sample shipments in the second half of 2026 and mass production in 2027.
Both companies significantly boosted R&D spending in Q1. Samsung's R&D expenditure rose 25.5 percent year-over-year to 11.34 trillion KRW. SK Hynix's R&D spending surged 68.3 percent to 2.55 trillion KRW.
The memory price surge and increased R&D investment underscore the industry's focus on next-generation memory technologies. Samsung and SK Hynix have not commented on future pricing trends.
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