Corporate Profits Rise 6.7%

After-tax corporate profits rose a year-on-year 6.7 percent in the second quarter to $1.969 trillion without inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments. Pretax profits on this basis were $2.206 trillion for only a 0.2 percent yearly gain that, in comparison to the strong gain for after-tax profits, underscores the significant effect of this year's corporate tax cut.

When including inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments, pre-tax corporate profits rose a year-on-year 7.7 percent to $2.250 trillion with after-tax profits at $2.013 trillion for a 16.1 percent gain. Taxes on corporate income, at $237.1 billion and which are calculated on this basis, fell 33.4 percent from the second quarter of 2017.