Discussion Paper

Do Corporate Profits Increase When Inflation Increases?

Abstract: When inflation is high, companies may raise prices to keep up. However, market watchers and journalists have wondered if corporations have taken advantage of high inflation to increase corporate profits. We look at this question through the lens of public companies, finding that in general, increased prices in an industry are often associated with increasing corporate profits. However the current relationship between inflation and profit growth is not unusual in the historical context.

Keywords: inflation; profits; industries; margin; prices;

JEL Classification: G3; E31;

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Part of Series: Liberty Street Economics

Publication Date: 2022-07-13

Number: 20220713