Business Profits

 New research published on Tuesday shows that U.S. corporate price markups and profits surged to their highest levels since the 1950s last year. Authored by Mike Konczal and Niko Lusiani of the Roosevelt Institute, the analysis finds that markups—the difference between the actual cost of a good or service and the selling price—"were both the highest level on record and the largest one-year increase" in 2021.

"How high companies can increase their sales up and above their costs... matters for the economy more generally because these markups distribute economic gains from workers and consumers to firms and shareholders," said Lusiani. "This is especially the case when almost 100% of these firms' earnings derived from markups are distributed upward to shareholders rather than retained and reinvested."

Study Shows Excess Corporate Profits in the US Have Become 'Widespread' (commondreams.org)