Samsung overtakes SK hynix in HBM revenue as HBM4 sales surge in Q3

Samsung's high-bandwidth memory revenue climbed to approximately $8.7 billion in Q3 2026, driven by demand for HBM4 chips tied to Nvidia's Vera Rubin accelerators Samsung Electronics just had the kind of quarter memory chipmakers dream about. Its sales of HBM4, the newest generation of high-bandwidth memory, rose substantially in Q3 2026. That pushed the company past its longtime rival SK hynix in HBM revenue. That last part matters. This is the first time during the current AI growth cycle that Samsung has out-earned SK hynix in this category. The numbers behind the comeback Samsung’s HBM revenue reached approximately $8.7 billion in the third quarter. That figure represents a 33% jump from the prior quarter. SK hynix, meanwhile, posted estimated HBM sales of $7.6 billion for the same period. Its quarter-over-quarter growth came in at 11%. The main engine was HBM4. Demand for Samsung’s latest memory came largely from Nvidia’s Vera Rubin AI accelerators. Samsung had previously projected that its HBM4 revenue would triple sequentially in Q3. It also expected HBM4 to make up more than 60% of its total HBM revenue for the second half of 2026. The company started commercial HBM4 shipme...