Kroger Executive Admits Company Gouged Prices Above Inflation

A great read! Kamala Harris is not for Price-FIXING! She just wants to use existing laws to investigate Price-Gouging through Collusion.

Gouging out the truth

“I will work to pass the first-ever federal ban on price gouging on food. My plan will include new penalties for opportunistic companies that exploit crises and break the rules, and we will support smaller food businesses that are trying to play by the rules and get ahead. We will help the food industry become more competitive, because I believe competition is the lifeblood of our economy. More competition means lower prices for you and your families.”

“While the coverage from the New York Post and other right-wing outlets was to be expected, there was similar coverage in mainstream outlets. In the Washington Post, columnist Catherine Rampell published a column with the headline, “When your opponent calls you ‘communist,’ maybe don’t propose price controls?” Rampell said that under Harris’ plan, there would be “a sweeping set of government-enforced price controls across every industry.” Rampell said, “[s]upply and demand would no longer determine prices or profit levels.” Instead, [f]ar-off Washington bureaucrats” would make those calls. 

It’s unclear how Rampell arrived at this interpretation of Harris’ proposal, which she indicated was limited to companies that “exploit crises” or market power. This is also how existing price gouging laws work in 37 states. Such laws have not turned Ohio, which has a broad anti-gouging statute, into a communist enclave with prices set by the government.”

“When combating price-gouging was not communism“

“This was not just rhetoric. That day, Trump signed Executive Order 13910, which the American Bar Association described as the “primary federal anti-price-gouging initiative.” The Executive Order allowed the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a list of products that would protected from hoarding and price-gouging. The list included surgical masks, surgical gloves, hand sanitizer, and disinfecting devices. 

During the press conference, Attorney General Bill Barr explained that it was now a crime to sell the items on the list “in excess of prevailing market prices.” Barr also announced he was convening a task force to prevent price-gouging and “designating in each of our 93 United States Attorney’s Offices a lead prosecutor who will be responsible in that district for pursuing these cases.””

“When Republican members of Congress targeted price-gouging“

“Price-gouging in the food industry has been the subject of bipartisan concern. HuffPost reported that, in February 2023, Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the Meat Packing Special Investigator Act. The legislation sought to combat “[a]nticompetitive behavior in the meat packing industry” and address the widening gap “between the price paid to cattle producers for their high-quality American products and the price of beef at the grocery store.” The Senators noted at the time that as consumers struggled with rising meat prices, “the four largest beef packers, who control 85 percent of our beef processing capacity, have enjoyed record profits.” “

This is what Kamala Harris is wanting to do via the FTC (December 2, 2023 / 4:21 PM EST / AP)

Egg suppliers ordered to pay $17.7 million by federal jury for price gouging in 2000s

“A federal jury in Illinois ordered $17.7 million in damages — an amount tripled to more than $53 million under federal law — to several food manufacturing companies who had sued major egg producers over a conspiracy to limit the egg supply in the United States. 

The jury ruled last week that the egg producers used various means to limit the domestic supply of eggs to increase the price of products during the 2000s. The time frame of the conspiracy was an issue throughout the case; jurors ultimately determined damages occurred between 2004 and 2008.”

Price Gouging is Price Gouging….

Egg Producers Accused of Price Gouging After 718% Profit Revealed

What Harris wants to do:

Kroger – Mergers are the reason we pay high prices! – Less competition.

“Kroger promises to cut prices if pending merger with Albertsons is approved”

“Kroger promises to cut prices if pending merger with Albertsons is approved”

“Kroger plans to lower prices by $1 billion after Albertsons merger closes”

“Kroger plans to lower prices by $1 billion after Albertsons merger closes”

Why couldn’t they cut prices two years ago with no merger? I made a chart of Kroger PROFITS and Kroger Stock Buybacks. See if you see a pattern.

President Biden signs Inflation Reduction Act into law

What happened? GREED! Greed is what happened.

Undistributed corporate profits: Domestic industries: Manufacturing: Durable goods

Quarterly Financial Report: U.S. Corporations: All Information: Total Cash on Hand and in U.S. Banks

Cargill posts record annual revenue of $177B, the most of any U.S. private company

“Cargill Inc. recorded $177 billion in revenue last year, the most ever for America’s largest privately held company.

The Minnetonka-based agribusiness saw revenue increase 7% for its latest fiscal year, which ended in May. As a private company, Cargill releases very few financial details throughout the year. Its annual report, with the latest released Wednesday, is a notable exception.

“From our unique vantage point at the center of the food system, Cargill is better positioned than ever to reimagine what’s possible,” Brian Sikes, Cargill’s CEO, said in the company’s annual report. “With the best teams in the world, a winning strategy, powerful global partnerships, and a relentless commitment to our purpose, that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

Cargill’s 2023 fiscal year — which ran from June 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023 — builds on a revenue surge in recent years. From 2016 to 2020, the company’s revenue hovered between $107 billion and $115 billion. The global commodities giant’s revenue then made large gains over the next three years amid significant global upheaval. Cargill’s revenue rose 17% to $134.4 billion in 2021 and another 23% to $165 billion in 2022.”

Groceries?

How Food Companies’ Massive Profits Are Making Your Groceries More Expensive

“It’s been more than a year since the U.S. launched its battle against high inflation. Yet, nearly every grocery item still costs more than it did in the past.

A bag of potato chips that could have been purchased for $5.36 last year will cost you $6.17 today. A dozen eggs that used to cost $2.01 now sets you back $4.21. A pound of butter went from $3.77 to $4.87.”

“On Tuesday, Conagra Brands—one of the largest consumer packaged goods companies in the U.S.—announced that it had posted a nearly 60% year-over-year profit increase between December 2022 and February 2023. The Chicago-based company, which makes a long list of grocery staples including Chef Boyardee, Hunt’s, Slim Jim, Reddi-wip, and Marie Callender’s frozen meals, reported a net income of $342 million, up from $219 million in the same quarter a year prior.”

“Conagra isn’t the only food company making profits off of inflation-driven price increases. At Kraft-Heinz, the multinational food company that makes Oscar Mayer, Jell-O, and Kool Aid, profits for the quarter ending at the end of 2022 were up nearly 450%, compared to the prior year, at $887 million. Tyson Foods, the largest meat company in the U.S., more than doubled its profits between the first quarters of 2021 and 2022. And General Mills, which owns Kix, Trix, and Chex among other recognizable cereal labels, saw its fourth quarter profits last year rise 97% compared to the previous quarter. General Mills has raised prices five times since 2021 and indicated last month that another price hike could be coming soon. (Profits fell for both Tyson and General Mills in the most recent quarter, however.)”

“Cal-Maine Foods, the largest egg producer in the U.S., reported that its revenue doubled and profit surged 718% last quarter because of higher egg prices. The company, which controls about 20% of the U.S. egg market, said its average selling price for a dozen eggs in the quarter ending Feb. 25 was $3.30, more than double the average of $1.61 a year earlier.”

Supermarkets supersized their profits during the pandemic

“Operating incomes at major grocery chains grew in 2021 — and are still climbing”

“A new report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reveals how three of the largest grocery retailers in the United States — Kroger, Walmart and Amazon — saw their profits climb amid the pandemic, and how they’ve kept these margins elevated in the years that followed.”

“The FTC found that in 2021, food and beverage retailer revenues rose to more than 6% over total costs. Those profits are still pushing upwards: in the first nine months of 2023, those profits increased to 7%. In 2022, Kroger reported an operating profit of over $4 billion, Walmart had an operating profit of $21 billion, and Amazon saw a total operating income of $12 billion.

The agency said this “casts doubt on assertions that rising prices at the grocery store are simply moving in lockstep with retailers’ own rising costs.” After all, covid-era lockdowns forced most people to eat at home for months at a time — which meant they had to swallow climbing grocery prices, whether they liked it or not. And the agency said still-high profits warrant further inquiry from the commission and policymakers.

“Some firms seem to have used rising costs as an opportunity to further hike prices to increase their profits, and profits remain elevated even as supply chain pressures have eased,” the FTC wrote in its report.”

Prices at the supermarket keep rising. So do corporate profits.

“Is it really inflation? Or something else?”

“Prices at the supermarket keep rising. So do corporate profits.”

“Who exactly is making money off your expensive food?

Chances are, you’ve bought a product that the food giant Cargill has had a hand in sourcing or processing, whether it’s wheat, soy, cocoa, feed for livestock, or the meat that ends up in grocery stores and restaurants. In fiscal year 2022, its revenue reached a record $165 billion. A record $6.68 billion of that was profit, double what its profits were in 2020. Its shareholders received $1.21 billion of those profits in dividends — yet another record.”

““Corporate profits have hit their highest level ever, and corporate profit margins — how much they’re making on each unit that they’re selling — have hit the highest level in 70 years,” said Chris Becker, senior economist at the Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive economic advocacy organization.

Tyson Foods, the largest meat company in the US, also more than doubled its profits between the first quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. Packaged foods manufacturer General Mills, which owns a variety of cereal brands as well as food brands like Annie’s, Betty Crocker, Chex, and Bisquick, has raised prices five times since 2021 and indicated another price hike could be coming soon. At the end of last year, its profits were up 97 percent compared to the previous quarter, and up 16 percent annually. Conagra, which owns packaged food brands like Healthy Choice, Duncan Hines, and Reddi-wip, noted a 22 percent profit increase in its last quarterly earnings report. Grocery giant Walmart — the largest US corporation, bar none — has seen its profits grow for the past several years, with a 7 percent jump between 2020 and 2021.

It’s not just companies growing richer. Food billionaires — the people at the top of the food chain at many of these companies — have grown exponentially wealthier, too.

The seven billionaire members of the Walton family, which owns Walmart, have a combined net worth of $238 billion, according to a recent Oxfam report, and their wealth increased by $8.8 billion between 2020 and 2022.”

“The Mars family, whose company makes candy (3 Musketeers, Skittles, M&M’s, Snickers), packaged food (Ben’s Original, Tasty Bite, MasterFoods), pet food, and more, boast six billionaire members who are together worth about $115 billion. Between 2020 and 2021, they added $21 billion to their fortunes.”

““During the pandemic alone, billionaires involved in the food and agribusiness sectors — just those billionaires — increased their wealth by at least $400 billion,” said Nabil Ahmed, director of economic justice at Oxfam America. “We’ve seen 62 new food billionaires created during the pandemic.””

Food and energy billionaires $453bn richer than two years ago, finds Oxfam

Popular Food Companies That Raised Prices And Made Big Profits In 2022

Fast Food?

McDonald’s profit climbs 63% as consumers absorb higher prices

“Fast-food giant’s stock falls back after setting records in recent sessions as earnings and sales rise above expectations”

McDonald’s Gross Profit 2010-2024 | MCD

“McDonald’s annual/quarterly gross profit history and growth rate from 2010 to 2024. Gross profit can be defined as the profit a company makes after deducting the variable costs directly associated with making and selling its products or providing its services.

McDonald’s gross profit for the quarter ending March 31, 2024 was $3.439B, a 3.77% increase year-over-year.

McDonald’s gross profit for the twelve months ending March 31, 2024 was $14.688B, a 9.03% increase year-over-year.

McDonald’s annual gross profit for 2023 was $14.563B, a 10.26% increase from 2022.

McDonald’s annual gross profit for 2022 was $13.207B, a 4.98% increase from 2021.

McDonald’s annual gross profit for 2021 was $12.58B, a 29% increase from 2020.”

Grocery Store, Fast Food and Oil Company Profits Soar as Families Struggle With Inflation

It isn’t Inflation!

It is GREEDFLATION!

The Price of Gas?