The Wall Street Journal reports that Samsung is likely to announce a quarterly operating profit drop of up 62% for its fourth consecutive quarterly decline. The company is facing pressure from both ends, with the recent release of Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and from continued pressure from low-priced Chinese smartphone makers.
MacRumors notes:
Though it may see a marginal increase in smartphone shipments, Samsung’s operating profit decline may be the result of lower handset selling prices and increased marketing costs as smartphone competition escalates.
With the release of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple has entered the “phablet” segment that Samsung partially pioneered.
One bright spot for Samsung is its components business, which is expected to increase 10% year-over-year, accounting for more than 40% of the company’s operating profits for 2015.
