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> Inflation generally helps big business and its owners. I'm not sure that follows in extreme cases. I don't even think it follows in baseline cases (2% inflat

> Inflation generally helps big business and its owners. I'm not sure that follows in extreme cases. I don't even think it follows in baseline cases (2% inflation yoy). Raising prices leaves customers with limited resources, as wages do not follow at anywhere near the same rate. If inflation brings prices up, consumers can only spend on specific items, prioritizing necessities over entire verticals of goods. For the vast majority of companies, it's bad.

nostrademons 5y ago
That effect is true, but the vast majority of big (top-100 in S&P 500) businesses are in relative necessities. That's how you get to be big: position yourself as a critical component in a key consumer value chain. Take a look at a sampling of the top 50 or so companies by market cap. There's computing & telecom (Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, NVidia, Intel, Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, Broadcom, Cisco), which is fundamental to obtaining products & services these days. Retail (Amazon, Walmart, Costco, Target, Home Depot, and Lowe's). Financial services, necessary for paying for things (JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Visa, Mastercard, Bank of America). Critical enterprise software (Oracle, Salesforce). Health care (United Health, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Abbott Labs, Merck). Oil (Exxon and Chevron). Of the top 50, the only ones that I think would be seriously vulnerable are Tesla, Netflix, and possibly branded foodstuffs (Coke/Pepsi/McDonalds). Sure, it'll be devastating to the vast majority of companies - but it's companies like restaurants, niche hobby stores, luxury activities, etc, not the staples that make up the S&P 500.