Alliance Consulting: In the fourth quarter of 2023, the revenue of the original factory Enterprise SSD industry reached 2.31 billion US dollars, with a quarterly increase of 47.6%.

TrendForce data shows that in the third quarter of 2023, suppliers significantly reduced output, causing prices of Enterprise SSDs to rise. The rebound in contract prices in the fourth quarter attracted buyers to actively make purchases, coupled with server brand demand improving in line with the outlook for enterprise capital expenditure in 2024 being better than last year, thereby expanding order momentum and driving an increase in the purchase capacity of Enterprise SSDs in the fourth quarter. As other end products enter the peak sales season, driving demand growth, and with the continuous reduction in original factory NAND Flash inventory levels, some capacities are in short supply, leading to a more than 15% increase in Enterprise SSD prices in the fourth quarter. Benefiting from both quantity and price increases, the revenue of the Enterprise SSD industry in the fourth quarter of 2023 increased by 47.6% quarter-on-quarter, reaching about $2.31 billion. In the first quarter of this year, in terms of demand, the order momentum of server brand factories continued to heat up, with Chinese customers being the most active purchasers; in terms of supply, original factory supply benefited from declining inventory levels, and in order to quickly move away from losses, Enterprise SSD prices were pushed higher. The price of contracts in the first quarter increased by more than 25%, estimated to drive a 20% increase in revenue for Enterprise SSDs in the first quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the highest growth rate was seen in the SK Group, with revenue in the Enterprise SSD sector reaching $766 million, representing a quarterly growth of 96.9%. Benefiting from the recovery of stocking demand from major customers in North America, SK Group fully supported related product supplies. Samsung followed with a revenue growth rate of 64.3%, reaching $961 million, as production benefits emerged, order momentum increased, leading to a price rebound and significant revenue and shipment growth. Micron benefited from the rise in contract prices of Enterprise SSDs in the fourth quarter, with revenue reaching about $2.5 billion, a quarterly increase of 6.8%. Currently, Micron is actively expanding its Enterprise SSD business, with PCIe 4.0 products gradually increasing in volume, and the start of customer verification for 232-layer products will help expand market share. Kioxia's revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023 reached $217 million, representing a 4.3% quarter-on-quarter increase. The gradual increase in PCIe 4.0 shipments was mainly due to the rapid price rebound, benefiting Kioxia as the market leader struggled with component supply. Western Digital's revenue in the fourth quarter was $1.13 billion, down 23.4% quarter-on-quarter due to reduced demand for its main products. Considering that Western Digital currently has limited PCIe product verification customers, its future product competition is in a less favorable position. In particular, Western Digital is limited by its strategy of using in-house controller chips, with research and development focused on the development of Client SSD products, posing a challenge to the growth potential of Enterprise SSD products in the future.