Firms raised markups during 2021 in anticipation of future cost pressures, contributing substantially to inflation.

Corporate profits rose quickly in 2021 along with inflation, raising concerns about corporations driving up prices to increase profits. Although corporate profits indeed contributed to inflation in 2021, their contribution fell in 2022. This pattern is not unusual: in previous economic recoveries, corporate profits were the main contributor to inflation in the first year and displaced by costs in the second year.

Corporate Profits in the United States increased to 3259.41 USD Billion in the second quarter of 2025 from 3252.44 USD Billion in the first quarter of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Corporate Profits - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Graph and download economic data for Corporate Profits After Tax (without IVA and CCAdj) (CP) from Q1 1947 to Q2 2025 about CCADJ, IVA, corporate profits, tax, corporate, GDP, and USA.

Corporate profit in Canada represents the total earnings of Canadian corporations measured in billions of 2017 chained Canadian dollars. This metric captures pre-tax corporate earnings adjusted for inflation, providing a real-terms assessment of business profitability across all sectors of the Canadian economy. Data is sourced from Statistics Canada's national accounts.

Professionals from Italian e-commerce players faced inflation's impact on their business. A survey from early 2023 showed that about **** in *** companies had decreased margins to keep similar prices, whereas ** percent of surveyed professionals stated their companies maintained similar prices but reduced discounts.

United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: Somewhat Greater Than Normal data was reported at 6.831 % in Apr 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 9.147 % for Mar 2025. United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: Somewhat Greater Than Normal data is updated monthly, averaging 12.889 % from Oct 2011 (Median) to Apr 2025, with 163 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 22.622 % in Dec 2015 and a record low of 1.740 % in May 2020. United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: Somewhat Greater Than Normal data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.I121: Business Inflation Expectations Survey. Business Inflation Expectations Survey Questionnaire: How do your PROFIT MARGINS compare with “normal” times?

Quarterly series on labour productivity growth and related variables have been published for the first time on December 20th, 2000. These statistical series go back to the first quarter of 1981. The data are published two months after the reference quarter. The quarterly productivity measures are meant to assist in the analysis of the short-run relationship between the fluctuations of output, employment, compensation and hours worked. This measure is fully comparable with the United States quarterly measure. The quarterly estimations of this table are limited to the overall business sector. This aggregate excludes government and non-profit institutions expenditures on primary factors as well as the output of households (including the rental value of owner-occupied dwellings). Corresponding exclusions are also made to labour compensation and hours worked to make output and labour input data consistent with one another. The real output of the business sector is constructed using a Fisher-chained index, after excluding from GDP at market prices the real gross value added of the government sector, of the non-profit institutions and of households (including the rental value of owner-occupied dwellings). This approach is similar to that used for the quarterly productivity of the business sector in the United States. The estimate of the total number of jobs covers four main categories: employee jobs, work owner of an unincorporated business, own account self-employment, and unpaid family jobs. This last category is found mainly in sectors where family firms are important (agriculture and retail trade, in particular). Jobs data are consistent with the System of National Accounts. This is the quarterly average of hours worked for jobs in all categories. The number of hours worked in all jobs is the quarterly average for all jobs times the annual average hours worked in all jobs. According to the retained definition, hours worked means the total number of hours that a person spends working, whether paid or not. In general, this includes regular and overtime hours, breaks, travel time, training in the workplace and time lost in brief work stoppages where workers remain at their posts. On the other hand, time lost due to strikes, lockouts, annual vacation, public holidays, sick leave, maternity leave or leave for personal needs are not included in total hours worked. Labour productivity is a measure of real gross domestic product (GDP) per hour worked. The ratio between total compensation for all jobs, and the number of hours worked. The term hourly compensation" is often used to refer to the total compensation per hour worked." This measures the cost of labour input required to produce one unit of output, and equals labour compensation in current dollars divided by the real output. It is often calculated as the ratio of labour compensation per hour worked and labour productivity. Unit labour cost increases when labour compensation per hour worked increases more rapidly than labour productivity. It is widely used to measure inflation pressures arising from wage growth. Unit non-labour payments are the non-labour payments associated with each unit of output of goods and services, and they are calculated as the non-labour payments divided by the real output. The implicit price deflator is equal to current-dollar output, divided by real output. The output measure is consistent with the Quarterly Income and Expenditure Accounts, prepared by the National Economic Accounts Division. Labor share is equal to the labour compensation divided by current dollar output. The output measure is consistent with the Quarterly Income and Expenditure Accounts, prepared by the National Economic Accounts Division. Current-dollar gross domestic product (GDP) in business sector equals current-dollar GDP in the economy less the gross value added of government, nonprofit institutions, households, and the rental of owner-occupied-dwellings. The output measure is consistent with the Quarterly Income and Expenditure Accounts. The total compensation for all jobs consists of all payments in cash or in kind made by domestic producers to workers for services rendered. It includes wages and salaries and employer's social contributions of employees, plus an imputed labour income for self-employed workers. Non-labour payments are the excess of current-dollar output in the business sector over corresponding labour compensation, and include non-labour costs as well as corporate profits and the profit-type income of proprietors. Non-labour costs include interest, depreciation, rent, and indirect business taxes. Unit labour cost in United States dollars is the equivalent of the ratio of Canadian unit labour cost to the exchange rate. This latter corresponds to the United States dollar value expressed in Canadian dollars.

United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: Much Greater Than Normal data was reported at 0.520 % in Apr 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.000 % for Mar 2025. United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: Much Greater Than Normal data is updated monthly, averaging 0.649 % from Oct 2011 (Median) to Apr 2025, with 163 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.995 % in Nov 2021 and a record low of 0.000 % in Mar 2025. United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: Much Greater Than Normal data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.I121: Business Inflation Expectations Survey. Business Inflation Expectations Survey Questionnaire: How do your PROFIT MARGINS compare with “normal” times?

United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: Much Less Than Normal data was reported at 14.553 % in Apr 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 12.396 % for Mar 2025. United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: Much Less Than Normal data is updated monthly, averaging 11.881 % from Oct 2011 (Median) to Apr 2025, with 163 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 43.202 % in Apr 2020 and a record low of 3.347 % in Apr 2019. United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: Much Less Than Normal data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.I121: Business Inflation Expectations Survey. Business Inflation Expectations Survey Questionnaire: How do your PROFIT MARGINS compare with “normal” times?

According to a survey conducted between July 9 and July 11, 2022, ** percent of Americans thought that Joe Biden was highly responsible for the current trend in the inflation rate. This is compared to ** percent of Americans who said President Biden did not have a lot of responsibility for the current inflation rate.

Inflation in the U.S. Global events in 2022 had a significant impact on the United States. Inflation rose from *** percent in January 2021 to *** percent in June 2022. Significantly higher prices of basic goods led to increased concern over the state of the economy, and the ability to cover increasing monthly costs with the same income. Low interest rates, COVID-19-related supply constraints, corporate profiteering, and strong consumer spending had already put pressure on prices before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Despite rising wages on paper, the rapid growth of consumer prices resulted in an overall decline in real hourly earnings in the first half of 2022.

How much control does Joe Biden have over inflation? The bulk of economic performance and the inflation rate is determined by factors outside the President’s direct control, but U.S. presidents are often held accountable for it. Some of those factors are market forces, private business, productivity growth, the state of the global economy, and policies of the Federal Reserve. Although high-spending decisions such as the 2021 COVID-19 relief bill may have contributed to rising inflation rates, the bill has been seen by economists as a necessary intervention for preventing a recession at the time, as well as being of significant importance to low-income workers impacted by the pandemic.

The most important tool for curbing inflation and controlling the U.S. economy is the Federal Reserve. The Reserve has the ability to set, raise, and lower interest rates and determine the wider monetary policy for the United States – something out of the president’s control. In June 2022, the Reserve announced it would raise interest rates **** percent for the second time that year – hoisting the rate to a target range of **** to *** percent – in an attempt to slow consumer demand and balance demand with supply. However, it can often take time before the impacts of interventions by the Federal Reserve are seen in the public’s day-to-day lives. Most economists expect this wave of inflation to pass in a year to 18 months.

The consumer price index is used as a measure of inflation from year to year. This report focuses on the headline inflation rate for all urban consumers, which is measured using the changes in price for a predefined "basket of goods and services." The basket includes food, beverages, housing, energy, clothing, transportation, medical care, recreation, education, communication and other expenses, such as haircuts, funeral expenses and tobacco. The index is anchored at a value of 100 between 1982 and 1984. Data for this report is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: About Normal data was reported at 38.355 % in Apr 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 46.645 % for Mar 2025. United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: About Normal data is updated monthly, averaging 36.380 % from Oct 2011 (Median) to Apr 2025, with 163 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 56.502 % in Feb 2020 and a record low of 24.348 % in Nov 2011. United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: About Normal data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.I121: Business Inflation Expectations Survey. Business Inflation Expectations Survey Questionnaire: How do your PROFIT MARGINS compare with “normal” times?

Graph and download economic data for Federal Government: Tax Receipts on Corporate Income (FCTAX) from 1929 to 2024 about receipts, tax, corporate, federal, government, income, GDP, and USA.

For 2024, cyber incidents were a leading business risk to companies of all sizes globally according to risk management experts worldwide. Some industries are more prone to cyberattacks than others. For instance, manufacturing was the most targeted industry globally by ransomware incidents in 2023. Meanwhile, the number of cyber incidents in the financial sector increased in recent years. How does cybercrime jeopardize businesses? Cyber incidents pose a multitude of risks to businesses across various aspects. Financially, they can result in direct losses through theft, ransom payments, or disruptions in operations, which affect revenue streams and stability. Between 2001 and 2023, the monetary damage from cybercrime in the United States rose from **** million U.S. dollars to a staggering **** billion dollars. What challenges do businesses face due to inflation? Inflation poses numerous challenges to organizations, affecting consumer spending, interest rates, driving up operational expenses, and creating uncertainty in strategic planning. Rising prices frequently result in increased costs for raw materials and wages, thereby reducing profit margins. Throughout much of the 2010s, inflation was consistently low, especially between 2013 and 2020, when it fluctuated between *** and *** percent. However, the annual global inflation rate peaked in 2022, at **** percent, and is expected to decline in the following years. This heightened inflation was a sign that the global economy was undergoing a period of great uncertainty, which made it more expensive to do business.

United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: Somewhat Less Than Normal data was reported at 38.739 % in Apr 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 31.812 % for Mar 2025. United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: Somewhat Less Than Normal data is updated monthly, averaging 34.950 % from Oct 2011 (Median) to Apr 2025, with 163 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 47.578 % in Mar 2013 and a record low of 24.991 % in Dec 2020. United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: Somewhat Less Than Normal data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.I121: Business Inflation Expectations Survey. Business Inflation Expectations Survey Questionnaire: How do your PROFIT MARGINS compare with “normal” times?

United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: Diffusion Index data was reported at -29.987 % Point in Apr 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of -23.729 % Point for Mar 2025. United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: Diffusion Index data is updated monthly, averaging -22.283 % Point from Oct 2011 (Median) to Apr 2025, with 163 observations. The data reached an all-time high of -7.722 % Point in Jul 2018 and a record low of -53.167 % Point in Apr 2020. United States BIE: Profit Margin vs Normal Times: Diffusion Index data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.I121: Business Inflation Expectations Survey.

Workers’ compensation and other insurance funds businesses have experienced significant changes in recent years, largely driven by economic fluctuations and shifts in investment income. The crash of the US economy in 2020 due to pandemic-related restrictions placed immense pressure on the industry. Business formation plunged and unemployment soared, resulting in a diminished customer base for insurance funds and a steep drop in revenue. Regardless, the Federal Reserve's injection of liquidity into the financial system propelled stock prices upward, boosting investment income for insurance providers. This increase in investment income provided some relief for providers, enabling them to cover expenses and sustain profits despite revenue losses. The relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions spurred economic recovery in 2021, driving unemployment down and corporate profit up. This positive economic climate increased demand for insurance services and enhanced investment income due to robust stock market conditions. However, since 2022, inflation has wreaked havoc, causing businesses and organizations to slash investments in insurance funds amid soaring prices. More recently, rising interest rates have reduced downstream demand due to the emergence of recessionary fears, but revenue and profit have expanded because of growing returns on fixed-income products. Overall, revenue for workers’ compensation and other insurance funds has inched downward at a CAGR of 0.2% over the past five years, reaching $56.6 billion in 2025. This includes a 0.5% rise in revenue in that year. Looking ahead, providers are poised for moderate growth over the next five years. As the US economy stabilizes, with solid GDP growth and potential increases in business formation and employment, the customer base for insurance funds is likely to expand. These favorable economic conditions should bolster consumer confidence and investment in the stock market, leading to greater investment income for the industry. Nonetheless, larger players are expected to dominate, given their ability to invest in cutting-edge technologies like AI for predicting claim risks and optimizing business operations. Smaller providers may face intensified internal competition, prompting some to exit the market, while others could focus on niche offerings or invest in technological advancements to remain viable and competitive. Overall, revenue for workers’ compensation and other insurance funds is expected to expand at a CAGR of 1.3% over the next five years, reaching $60.3 billion in 2030.

Companies across the economy have recognized business coaches' value in navigating economic volatility, propping up coaches even amid inflationary pressures and high interest rates. Coaches are helping clients navigate current labor shortages in healthcare, logistics and business services industries, offering strategies to enhance their employees' satisfaction and retain capable workers. Major corporations like Microsoft and AT&T are especially boosting their investments in training and development to address the demands of an evolving business landscape. Despite inflation's impact on individuals' budgets, solid corporate profit has helped coaches remain accessible to major clients. Some interest from individuals seeking to pad their resumes has revived as inflation gradually stabilizes, but business coaches continue to rely on commercial clients. Revenue has surged at a CAGR of 4.5% to an estimated $20.0 billion over the five years through 2025, including an expected swell of 0.4% in 2025 alone. C-suite executives are prioritizing improving employee experience and value proposition, aiming to minimize turnover and enhance workforce planning amid labor shortages and rising costs. A 2024 Mercer Survey indicates less focus on mental and physical well-being initiatives among business owners, with investments in managerial training also falling by the wayside. Instead, executives are providing additional professional development benefits to their staff, propping up business coaches with established reputations in training employees. This mix of interests results in varying demand for business coaches, depending on their specialization. While some coaches align well with these strategies, others must adapt and diversify their services to meet shifting client demands. Business coaches will see lessened growth in the coming years. President Trump's tariffs will raise prices and cut spending power for consumers and corporations, though deregulation will buoy profit for commercial clients. Corporate profit is set to continue swelling, enabling more significant investments in managerial and executive training. The emergence of new businesses will provide coaches with new potential clients, but smaller workforces might limit the benefits of group coaching. Coaching agencies will face mounting saturation, pushing them to tailor their services to clients' specific needs regarding reshoring supply chains or regulatory uncertainty. As competition intensifies, strategic marketing and careful pricing will become increasingly important for coaches. Price competition and continued labor intensity are set to slightly drag down profit. Revenue is set to decelerate, climbing at a CAGR of 1.3% to an estimated $21.3 billion through the end of 2030.

Corporate law firms have enjoyed revenue growth as strong corporate profit stimulated demand for almost all of the industry's services. The largest boon to corporate lawyers came in 2021 as the number of IPOs reached an all-time high. As drafting IPOs is one of the industry's largest revenue streams, this jump brought a surge in revenue. This revenue was especially helpful to make up for a dip the year before, as pandemic-related government assistance allowed struggling businesses to delay filing for bankruptcy, lessening demand for corporate lawyers. Since 2023, revenue growth in corporate law has accelerated further, driven by strong demand across a wide range of services, with the highest increases in areas like merger advice, transactional work and regulation. Thus, industry-wide revenue is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 3.9% through 2025 to total $193.6 billion, with revenue rising an estimated 5.3% during 2025 alone.Strong corporate profit is the most important factor to the industry's success. Corporate profit skyrocketed following the initial pandemic trough as prices, spending and production capacities all rose to meet pent-up demand. This new capital enabled major companies to acquire smaller competitors, leading to a surge in revenue for lawyers specializing in incorporation. With more flexibility in their margins, corporations were also able to invest more in research and development projects. This, in turn, increased demand for corporate law firms to help protect intellectual property. While wages have been on the rise, revenue growth has helped law firms absorb these costs and keep profit high, especially for the nation's top firms.Looking forward, corporate lawyers are expected to enjoy steady growth. Corporate profit is forecast to rise as interest rates decline, even as the effect of tariff policy shifts engenders economic uncertainty. Continued changes to corporate taxation, first under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and now with the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025, will encourage major companies to seek consulting services from corporate lawyers in order to comply with evolving corporate tax obligations and incentives. Much of this demand will be met by in-house legal departments, though, which experts anticipate to become more prevalent. Still, the range of corporate law firms' cyclical and countercyclical services will continue to make the industry especially resilient, and revenue is forecast to climb at a CAGR of 0.6% through 2030 to total $199.9 billion.