Samsung still seen struggling to regain footing in smartphones, could buy back shares

Samsung Electronics is still seen as struggling to reverse declines in its smartphone market share and margins, and investors are getting antsy. The company, which remains the world's largest handset maker by volume, is expected tomorrow to forecast its first annual increase in quarterly profit in two years, following a weak third quarter in 2014. However, according to Reuters, Samsung's profits and mobile margins are expected to drop compared to the second quarter of 2015. Samsung has pushed lower-end smartphones in emerging markets like India and has introduced new high-end phones, like the Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Note 5, aimed at developed markets like the U.S. Yet Samsung is clearly hunting for sales amid Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) launch of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, and last week said it would pay up to $120 to customers who purchase one of the company's new Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, or Galaxy Note 5 smartphones under a new promotion. "Samsung is at a standstill," Kim Hyun-su, fund manager for IBK Asset Management, told Reuters. "It's having trouble finding a way to create new demand for its smartphones." Meanwhile, according to Bloomberg, Samsung has lost about $22 billion in market value this year as its shares have slumped, and the company could buy back shares as early as this month in an effort to return some value to investors. Samsung is sitting on around $55 billion in cash. Article