Profit Margin Net Rising Index
The Graph of the Week is from the October 2006 NABE Industry Survey, the Profit Margin Net Rising Index. From the survey:
Profit margins improved modestly from the July survey. Results, however, were still well below those reported over the past three years. Respondents who said their firms’ profits rose in the second quarter outnumbered those who reported falling profit margins by 13 percentage points, an improvement from July’s NRI of 9 . The NRI for profit margins had averaged 18 percentage points from the third quarter of 2003 to the second quarter of this year, and was 27 percentage points in January 2006, the second-best ever reported. The NRI was negative (more firms reporting decreasing than increasing profits) in the goods- producing sector for a second straight quarter, while the finance sector returned to a positive NRI reading after a negative in July.
NABE members can read more in the full Industry Survey. There is a summary available for the public.