Insights #7: How much economic profit do Chinese firms generate? Is corporate China catching up with the United States powerhouse?

We examine whether China’s tremendous economic growth this century has a counterpart in significant economic profitmaking by its firms. We find that Chinese companies only started to generate significant economic profits after 2019. The largest firms in the consumer discretionary, IT, and industrial sectors have driven this recent upturn. Yet, these developments appear vulnerable. Furthermore, even with the recent increases, Chinese firms only create 34% of the economic profits of their US counterparts.