Samsung's profits fall by half in third quarter
Samsung posted a steep earnings plunge on Thursday (October 31)
It's third-quarter operating profit dropped by more than half from the year before.
That's because the global market for memory chips is in a downturn.
Prices are low and chips have been the company's main engine to crank out profit.
The new numbers came on Thursday and mark a fourth quarter of sinking profits for Samsung.
But in other areas, the company's doing much better.
Its mobile business is up 32 percent.
Analysts say strong smartphone sales of the Galaxy Note 10 and other models helped keep profits from falling further.
That's partly because of U.S. sanctions on Samsung rival Huawei.
They mean U.S. companies are effectively banned from supplying the Chinese giant.
Experts told Reuters they expect Samsung to be back in the black next year once global sales of next-generation 5G tech shift into high gear.
They say that should fuel hunger for chips again and pump up the bottom line.
