The plunge in Samsung's profits

As reported by The Korea Joongang Daily, Samsung's operating profit plunged during the third quarter of this year, primarily due to decling sales of its smartphones.  The accompanying graphic (click for a full-size version) shows the overall picture.  The article noted that, "According to Samsung yesterday, its IT and mobile communications business performance plunged in the third quarter as its revenue from smartphones shrank 32.8 percent year-on-year and was 13.6 percent less than in the second quarter. Samsung Electronics’ operating profit for its IT and mobile communications business dropped nearly 74 percent year-on-year and also declined 60 percent from the previous quarter."