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No. You _could_ argue that record _revenue_ could happen due to inflation, but that's not profit.

• gruez 2y ago
  >but that's not profit. Did you mean profit margins? OP mentioned profits in absolute dollar amounts, not in % terms. Otherwise it's absurd to claim that dollar profits should stay the same, even with inflation.
• smegma2 2y ago
  profit = revenue - cost Revenue and cost both increase by 10% due to inflation profit = 1.1 * revenue - 1.1 * cost profit = 1.1 * (revenue - cost) So profit also increased by 10 percent.
  • reverendsteveii 2y ago
    assuming inflation hits all saleable goods and services equally is a pretty huge assumption
    • gruez 2y ago
      It doesn't meaningfully change the conclusion, since we're talking about whether there will "record" profits year after year. The exact % rise of profits is irrelevant. In most circumstances there's no deflation happening, so even if inflation isn't the same for inputs and sales, profits in dollar terms will still go up.
      • reverendsteveii 2y ago
        profit = 1.3 * revenue - 1.1 * cost and profit = 1.1 * revenue - 1.3 * cost are both possible. the first leads to record profits every year, the second doesn't. the exact % change in profits is relevant because it can be positive, negative or zero in an environment with uneven inflation. Reality, at the moment, is an environment with uneven inflation.
        • antasvara 2y ago
          While the point here is generally true, investor owned utilities have revenues (i.e. electricity rates) that are tied to their expenses. That's the reason they have to ask for a rate increase; if the rate increase was designed to juice their profit margin to 30%, it would likely be denied (not guaranteed, but likely). So this is one industry where you'd expect revenue to increase in proportion to expenses.