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NAND Flash Industry Revenue Grows 2.9% in 3Q23, Expected to Surge Over 20% in Q4, Says TrendForce


5 December 2023 Semiconductors Bryan Ao

TrendForce reports a pivotal shift in the NAND Flash market for 3Q23, primarily driven by Samsung’s strategic decision to reduce production. Initially, the market was clouded by uncertainty regarding end-user demand and fears of a subdued peak season, prompting buyers to adopt a conservative approach with low inventory and slow procurement. However, as market leaders like Samsung implemented substantial production cuts, buyers’ attitudes shifted toward a more aggressive procurement strategy in anticipation of a market supply decrease. This led to a stabilization and even an uptick in NAND Flash contract prices by quarter-end, driving a 3% QoQ increase in bit shipments and culminating in a total revenue of US$9.229 billion, marking an approximate 2.9% increase.

The story unfolds with Kioxia and Micron—the only two to witness a dip in revenue rankings this quarter—while Samsung maintained its robust performance. Despite sluggish demand in the server sector, Samsung’s fortunes rebounded thanks to a boost in consumer electronics, especially with high-capacity products in PCs and smartphones. Samsung emerged from a trough in Q3, with strategic inventory replenishments fueling further strategic stocking, and a shift in operational focus toward maximizing profit. This led to a minor 1–3% decrease in shipped bits, but a 1–3% increase in ASP, stabilizing Q3 NAND Flash revenue at US$2.9 billion.

Kioxia saw a 3% increase in Q3 ASP, boosted by rebounding wafer contract prices and early strategic stockpiling by laptop clients. However, a delay in orders from American smartphone brands led to a 10–15% decrease in shipped bits, causing a dip in NAND Flash revenue to US$1.34 billion, marking an 8.6% decline in QoQ.

Micron was characterized by steady orders from PC and mobile sectors and inventory restocking by some enterprise SSD clients. Despite maintaining bit shipments from Q2, a 15% drop in ASP led to a slight slip in revenue to US$1.15 billion, a 5.2% decrease in QoQ. Yet, Q4 forecasts a more vibrant scenario, with a comprehensive rebound in contract prices and a surge in order growth driven by price hikes, setting Micron up for over 20% revenue growth QoQ. 

Other industry giants like SK Group (SK hynix & Solidigm) and WDC rode the wave of renewed demand in consumer electronics. SK Group, buoyed by renewed demand for high-capacity products in the PC and smartphone arenas, maintained a steady increase in bit shipments, catapulting Q3 NAND Flash revenue to US$1.86 billion–an 11.9% uptick. WDC’s narrative echoed this success, with Q3 PC demand outstripping forecasts and resilient demand in mobile and gaming categories underscoring an effective price-driven increase in bit shipments, thus boosting the NAND Flash division’s revenue to US$1.556 billion, a significant 13% climb in QoQ.

For more information on reports and market data from TrendForce’s Department of Semiconductor Research, please click here, or email the Sales Department at SR_MI@trendforce.com

For additional insights from TrendForce analysts on the latest tech industry news, trends, and forecasts, please visit https://www.trendforce.com/news/

TrendForce will launch our offline seminar on the 14th of December (Thursday) at Tokyo Bay Ariake Washington Hotel, during the time of SEMICON Japan. This event will mainly focus on the dynamics and foresees in the 2024 tech market, including the memory, the semiconductor industry between Japan and Taiwan, foundry capacity change, and automotive and consumer electronics sectors, for the visitors’ attendance, please contact alanchen@trendforce.com or angelaliao@trendforce.com; the media attendance please contact estherfeng@trendforce.com.

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