Samsung is prepping for its first annual earnings drop since 2011, based on a third-quarter profit marking the company's lowest in more than three years.
One of the world's top smartphone sellers, Samsung on Tuesday announced that operating profit likely fell 59.7 percent in the third quarter to 4.1 trillion won ($3.8 billion). Though less of a blow, quarterly sales are also expected to have dropped 20 percent, landing around 47 trillion won ($43.7 billion) for the quarter ending Sept. 30.
The numbers were released ahead of the company's full earnings report later this month.
When Samsung stumbled last quarter—dropping net profits by 20 percent and revenues by 8.9 percent—the company blamed increased competition and an overestimation of the demand for its smartphones.
The tech giant has been facing continued pressure from low-cost handset makers like Huawei and Xiaomi; the latter recently dethroned Samsung for the No. 1 spot in China—the world's largest mobile market.
And while Samsung's Galaxy lineup has held its own against Apple in the high-end smartphone market, Cupertino only recently entered the phablet market with the 6 Plus, a move that will likely put a dent in sales of Samsung's super-sized phones. As The Wall Street Journal pointed out, third-quarter results included just 12 days of iPhone 6 sales, so imagine what an impact Apple's numbers will have on the next quarter.
The next quarter, however, is the holiday shopping season. Samsung is pushing the Galaxy Note 4, and the top U.S. carriers have committed to selling its standalone Gear S smartwatch.
For more, see What Samsung Does Not Get About Apple.