Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
No.
Corporate profits increased by double digits in the past three years, though their share of national income has remained stable.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who is running against Republican Eric Hovde in the Nov. 5, 2024, election, claimed that corporate profits increased 75% in three years.
Baldwin’s campaign cited a news report indicating a 75% increase over two years, from the second quarter of 2020 to Q2 of 2022.
Federal Reserve Bank, Harvard University and University of Wisconsin-Madison economists directed Wisconsin Watch to the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis figures.
Currently, annualized corporate profits were $4.1 trillion as of Q2 2024 — 19% over three years ago (Q2 2021).
They were 91% higher than Q2 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Corporate profits were 14.1% of national income in 2020, peaked at 16.8% in 2021 and dropped to 16.1% in 2023.
National income includes proprietors’ income and employee compensation.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
City Cast Madison: U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin Makes Her Case to Wisconsin Voters
Fox43.com: Verifying Casey’s corporate profit claims in latest ad
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis: National income: Corporate profits before tax
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