Corporate earnings soar as consumers pay more

CHICAGO (NewsNation) — As inflation remains at a 15-year high, companies continue to raise product prices. However, those prices haven’t slowed down sales, leading to record corporate earnings.

From soda to chips, PepsiCo products have jumped by 13% to 14% over the last quarter, and the company’s revenue has jumped by 10%. 

McDonald’s hiked prices by 4% since last March and its net income has increased 63% year-over-year.

Proctor and Gamble, the parent company behind brands like Kleenex and Huggies, pulled in more than $20 billion in sales in the company’s first quarter of this year, even with a 10% increase in prices across the board.

These companies claimed they’ve been raising prices to offset costs like raw materials and fuel.

As summer months near, investors expect consumers to change their spending habits as inflation and higher mortgage rates catch up to them.

“You see prices drop at the wholesale level but they don’t drop at the retail level. Same with food. It just takes a while to get it into the supply chain,” Mark Tweed, the senior vice president of investments for Raymond James, said. “We get into summer prices will continue to drop if demand and the growing season turns out like we think.”

A number of companies have also claimed that customers appear to be finally at their breaking point.

Conagra Brands, the company behind Hunt’s ketchup and Slim Jims, said it’s done raising the prices of its products. Others like Coca-Cola said they expect to be done with price hikes before the end of the year.