COMMENTARY / World

Companies made heaps of money in 2021. And workers?

Corporate profits are soaring but employees hoping for a big raise face disappointment

With the purchasing power of employees crimped by inflation, many must be wondering when they’ll pocket their fair share like companies. They could be waiting a long while. | GETTY IMAGES

By Chris Bryant
Bloomberg

Aug 14, 2022

A year ago analysts thought steelmaker ArcelorMittal SA would be lucky to make $2 billion of net profit in 2021.

Their estimates turned out to be more than a little pessimistic: the Luxembourg-based corporation should report about $14.5 billion of earnings, higher than the past 13 years combined.

Compared to the $240 billion of profit that U.S. tech giants Apple Inc., Google-parent Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. will share this year, the haul might seem trivial, but make no mistake: Europe’s largest companies are mostly doing extraordinarily well and their good fortune looks set to continue.

Companies made heaps of money in 2021. And workers?

Corporate profits are soaring but employees hoping for a big raise face disappointment

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