Some of the largest general consumer S&P 500 companies are raising prices to boost their own profits even as the Fed raised interest rates to control inflation, according to a new watchdog report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHigher interest rates haven\u2019t stopped S&P companies, especially in the big food industry, from inflating consumer prices despite reporting billions in extra net earnings and over a trillion dollars in giveaways to wealthy investors,\u201d said Liz Zelnick, the director of economic security and corporate power at the nonprofit Accountable.US, in a release<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Accountable.US found in a report<\/u><\/a> released last week that companies like General Mills Inc., Tyson Foods Inc., and PepsiCo Inc., have admitted to benefitting from raised pricing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The findings add to the idea that corporate greed can be a driver of inflation, referred to by some as\u2002<\/u><\/a>\u201cgreedflation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n On recent earnings calls, PepsiCo chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta said the company \u201cmight have to take additional pricing\u201d \u2014 and a General Mills Executive said the company had gotten \u201csmart about how we look at pricing,\u201d according to the report. <\/p>\n\n\n\n PepsiCo\u2019s net income went up by 16.9 percent to nearly $9 billion, and it spent more than $7.6 billion in stock buybacks and dividends in 2022, per the report, and General Mills saw its net income increase 16.5 percent to $2.7 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ulta Beauty executives \u201ctouted benefiting from an \u2018elevated level of price increases’\u201d and Kimberly-Clark executives said that \u201cpricing has continued to be a big driver behind our top line growth,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ulta\u2019s FY 2022 net income went up 26 percent to $1.2 billion, and Kimberly-Clark\u2019s net income increased 6.3 percent year-over-year to nearly $2 billion, according to the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Federal Reserve has been upping interest rates in an effort to tamp down inflation, but Zelnick said it\u2019s \u201cclear the corporate profiteering epidemic will persist\u201d despite the Fed\u2019s efforts. The Fed decided<\/u><\/a> last week to keep interest rates where they are for the first time since January 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCorporate greed is a stubborn thing and requires serious action from Congress. The Fed has not seen an adequate return on its investment in a policy that has already created fissures in the economy that could lead to recession. It\u2019s just not worth it,\u201d Zelnick said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n