NAND Flash Industry Revenue Grew 28.1% in 1Q24, Growth Expected to Continue into Q2

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TrendForce reports that adoption of enterprise SSDs by AI servers began in February, which subsequently led to large orders. Additionally, PC and smartphone customers have been increasing their inventory levels to manage rising prices. This trend drove up NAND Flash prices and shipment levels in 1Q24 and boosted quarterly revenue by 28.1% to US$14.71 billion.

There were significant changes in market rankings this quarter, with Micron overtaking Western Digital to claim the fourth spot. Micron benefited from slightly lower prices and shipments than its competitors in 4Q23, resulting in a 51.2% QoQ revenue growth to $1.72 billion in 1Q24—the highest among its peers.

Samsung maintained its market leadership with a 28.6% QoQ revenue jump to $5.40 billion, driven by continued inventory build-up among buyers and a revival of enterprise SSD orders. Despite a cautious outlook for consumer product orders in Q2, rising NAND Flash contract prices are expected to help Samsung’s revenue grow by over 20% in the second quarter.

SK Group (SK hynix and Solidigm) saw a 31.9% QoQ increase in revenue to $3.27 billion in Q1, driven by strong smartphone and server orders. Solidigm’s unique floating gate QLC architecture helped sustain robust demand for high-capacity enterprise SSDs. SK Group’s shipment growth is expected to outpace other suppliers in Q2, with an anticipated revenue jump of around 20%.

Kioxia’s Q1 output was still affected by production cuts from the previous quarter, resulting in a modest 7% QoQ increase in shipments. However, rising NAND Flash prices led to a 26.3% QoQ rise in revenue to $1.82 billion. Kioxia expects to grow Q2 revenue by approximately 20%, supported by increased supply bits and more flexible pricing, which will further expand enterprise SSD shipments.

Western Digital's Q1 shipments were impacted by a significant decline in retail market demand starting in February. Nevertheless, rising NAND Flash contract prices led to a 2.4% QoQ revenue increase, reaching $1.71 billion. Despite a cautious market outlook for the PC and smartphone sectors, Western Digital plans to boost its enterprise SSD product development to drive future growth. However, due to longer verification times for enterprise products, short-term shipment growth is limited, and Q2 revenue is expected to remain flat.

PC and smartphone customers have already raised their NAND Flash inventory levels for Q2, and growth in end-consumer demand remains below expectations, leading to more conservative buying from branded makers. Meanwhile, the surge in large enterprise SSD orders continues to drive up the ASP of NAND Flash by 15%. TrendForce forecasts Q2 NAND Flash revenue to increase by nearly 10% QoQ.