U.S. Corporate Profits Climb to Record Levels in First Quarter of 2026

U.S. business profits continued to surge in the first quarter of 2026, reaching record levels by several key measures and extending a decade-long trend of strong corporate earnings.

Corporate earnings reached record levels in the first quarter of 2026 as AI investments and improved efficiency boosted profitability across U.S. businesses.

Data released recently by the U.S. Commerce Department showed that total corporate profits reached an annualized $4.42 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, up from $4.35 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2025, Ben Werschkul reported for Yahoo Finance.

Even by more conservative measures, corporate profit margins remain historically high.

After-tax corporate profits accounted for 12.4 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), the highest level since the second quarter of 2021 and the second-highest quarterly reading since records began in 1947.

Measured against U.S. gross domestic income (GDI)—the total income earned by residents and businesses—corporate profits reached 12.2 percent, the highest level since the early 1950s, according to Axios.

The continued rise in profits has been fueled by factors including the artificial intelligence (AI) boom and improved business efficiency, generating stronger returns for corporate America and investors.

Sen. Bernie Sanders reacted to reports that Apple would raise prices on some MacBooks and iPads, writing that "corporate greed is Tim Cook [raising prices at Apple] after it made $112 billion in profits last year."

The debate over rising corporate earnings has intensified as wage growth has lagged behind profits. The Wall Street Journal economics commentator Greg Ip recently wrote, "You can be a red-blooded capitalist and still worry about the political stability of an economy in which ever more output flows toward shareholders instead of employees."