Everyone’s struggling through the inflation crisis, we’re told — even big business. In fact, it’s because of the higher costs corporations are weathering, whether from higher fuel prices, supply chain disruptions, or shortages caused by freak events, that the rest of us have to pony up more when we finally get their products in our hands. The most recent consumer price index (CPI) figures show just how dramatically the prices of all sorts of ordinary household goods have gone up over 2022, as businesses have passed their higher costs on to consumers.

But is that really the case?

Mounting evidence suggests that far from simply passing on their own higher bills, US corporations are profiting off the inflation crisis, using it to jack up prices well above what’s necessary. How else can you explain these firms’ rosy financials — or that their own records all but outright say as much? A few of the goods included in the CPI that have seen the steepest rises illustrate the point.