Corporate Profits Move Higher

After-tax corporate profits rose a year-on-year 6.4 percent in the second quarter to $1.962 trillion without inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments. This is revised from an initial estimate of 6.7 percent. Pretax profits on this basis were $2.197 trillion for an outright year-on-year decline of 0.1 percent 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 7.3 percent to $2.242 trillion with after-tax profits at $2.008 trillion for a 15.8 percent gain. Taxes on corporate income, at $234.8 billion and which are calculated on this basis, fell 34.0 percent from the second quarter of 2017 which is a decisive measurement of this year's corporate tax cut.