The Profit Squeeze Is On

American companies' profit margins are getting squeezed due to rising wage and salary bills for private industry, causing a decline in Q1 earnings despite beating analysts' expectations.

June 13, 2023 . 1:20 PM

1 min read

American companies' profit margins are getting squeezed due to rising wage and salary bills for private industry.
Q1 earnings per share among S&P 500 companies were flat versus a year ago, beating analysts' expectations.
S&P 500 sales grew 3.6% overall from a year ago, causing profit margins to slip.
Refinitiv estimates S&P 500 profit margin in Q1 was 11.8% of sales compared to 13.2% a year earlier.
Private industry's wage and salary bill rose by 5.8% from a year earlier causing a decline in profit margins.