US Corporate Profits Soar With Margins at Widest Since 1950
- Business is passing on higher costs and then some, data show
- Some Democrats have blamed price-gouging for high inflation
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A measure of US profit margins has reached its widest since 1950, suggesting that the prices charged by businesses are outpacing their increased costs for production and labor.
After-tax profits as a share of gross value added for non-financial corporations, a measure of aggregate profit margins, improved in the second quarter to 15.5% -- the most since 1950 -- from 14% in the first quarter, according to Commerce Department figures published Thursday.