Corporate Profit Margins
This divides the BEA's after-tax profits with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments by nominal gross value added for nonfinancial corporations. Both sides cover the same sector and arrive in the same quarterly GDP release, so the result answers how much of current-dollar output remains as adjusted after-tax profit.
After-tax profit share
Next release: Oct 29, 2026
Latest reading
As of Q2 2026, Profit Margins (After-tax profit share) stands at 14.7% — up from 14.0% the prior reading, 0.0 pp below the Q2 2021 record of 15.5%. Margins can remain elevated for years. A rising ratio means adjusted after-tax profits are growing faster than the current-dollar value added underneath them; a decline means output is outrunning profits. Read it beside productivity and unit labor costs before assigning a cause, and use the 4-quarter average to separate the trend from one revised GDP print. Series history runs from 1947 to present.
Sources, methodology & freshnessBEA via FRED (W328RC1Q027SBEA ÷ A455RC1Q027SBEA), quarterly · Quarterly, with every releaseData as of 2026-04-01 · Open ↓Close ↑
Full history
Methodology & data
Profit Margins is sourced from BEA via the Federal Reserve's FRED service (BEA via FRED (W328RC1Q027SBEA ÷ A455RC1Q027SBEA), quarterly). We pull the complete history, chart it on a quarterly basis, overlay SPY for context, and generate a dated plain-English reading from the latest release — with no smoothing or adjustment beyond what the chart legend states.
Every reading is stamped with its release date. Latest observation 2026-04-01; site refreshed 2026-10-08. Maintained and reviewed by Yuriy Matso; see our methodology for the standards every series on the site is held to.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Corporate Profit Margins?
This divides the BEA's after-tax profits with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments by nominal gross value added for nonfinancial corporations. Both sides cover the same sector and arrive in the same quarterly GDP release, so the result answers how much of current-dollar output remains as adjusted after-tax profit.
How do you read Profit Margins?
Margins can remain elevated for years. A rising ratio means adjusted after-tax profits are growing faster than the current-dollar value added underneath them; a decline means output is outrunning profits. Read it beside productivity and unit labor costs before assigning a cause, and use the 4-quarter average to separate the trend from one revised GDP print.
Where does the Profit Margins data come from?
BEA via FRED (W328RC1Q027SBEA ÷ A455RC1Q027SBEA), quarterly. We chart the full history and publish a dated, plain-English reading with every release; the raw series is downloadable as CSV at /data/indicators/corporate-profit-margin.csv.
How often is Profit Margins updated?
Profit Margins is a quarterly series from BEA, refreshed here as soon as a new release posts to FRED.
After-tax profit share
Next release: Oct 29, 2026