Apple's introduction of the iPhone 5S and 5C prompted Samsung's first decline in operating profit in two years though investors, who had been expecting such a shortfall, shrugged off the news.
Samsung's operating profit fell 18% to $7.7 billion for the quarter, which ended Dec. 31. Samsung's stock price was up 0.2% Friday morning after falling 2.2% Thursday. The figure compares to a 26% jump in profit in Samsung's third quarter.
The South Korean company's stock lost $8.8 billion in one day earlier this month as investors fretted that the company's profit growth was slowing amid increased competition from Apple but also Lenovo and Huawei in China.
Analysts expect Apple to report record iPhone sales of 55.3 million next Monday. Samsung's Galaxy S4, which went on sale in April 2013, hit 10 million in the first month and hit 40 million in October.
The Galaxy S5, Samsung's next smartphone release, expected in April, may include an eye-scanner. That feature might blunt the iPhone 5S's fingerprint reader, a key selling point for consumers seeking safe mobile computing but tired of punching in security codes on their phones.