September 11, 2026 – According to Nikkei Asia, citing FactSet data, CXMT (ChangXin Memory Technologies) achieved an EBITDA margin of 82% in the second quarter of 2026. This figure surpassed SK Hynix (76%) and Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor business (70%), making CXMT the most profitable memory chip manufacturer globally for the quarter. During the same period, CXMT’s revenue surged by approximately 10 times year-on-year, leading the six major memory manufacturers in growth rate.
This explosive profitability is primarily driven by a super-cycle in the DRAM industry. The AI boom has fueled massive demand for memory, prompting giants like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron to shift significant capacity toward high-value-added HBM (High Bandwidth Memory). As a result, the supply of traditional DDR/LPDDR memory has contracted, leading to continuously rising DRAM prices. Since CXMT’s product portfolio consists almost entirely of traditional commodity DRAM, it has perfectly capitalized on this price rally.
As the world’s fourth-largest DRAM manufacturer and the only domestic company to achieve large-scale mass production of DRAM, CXMT was in a state of long-term losses just a few years ago. Company data shows that its gross margin was deeply negative in 2023. However, CXMT’s 2026 first-half financial report reveals a complete turnaround, with revenue reaching 150.31 billion RMB, a net profit attributable to shareholders of 77.605 billion RMB, and an impressive gross margin of 84.84% for its core business.
Historically, the global DRAM market has been dominated by an oligopoly of Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. CXMT’s rapid profit catch-up during this boom cycle proves that domestic memory manufacturers have achieved commercial profitability.
However, it must be noted that despite the surge in revenue and profits, CXMT still has a considerable gap compared to top-tier giants like Samsung and SK Hynix. On one hand, Samsung and SK Hynix possess high-margin AI memory products like HBM, which feature higher R&D barriers and stronger customer lock-in. On the other hand, CXMT’s wafer production capacity and overall revenue scale remain significantly smaller than those of the two South Korean giants, resulting in greater long-term R&D investment pressure.
In its financial report, CXMT also explicitly warned that the current DRAM price rally is not permanent. Once the industry cycle turns downward, profit margins will likely fall rapidly.
