Washington, D.C. — Ahead of President Biden’s meeting with several major corporate CEOs addressing the nation’s ongoing global supply chain challenges, Accountable.US spotlighted that retailers BestBuy, Walmart, and Kroger have spent billions buying back company stock after record sales and increased profits from passing along higher costs to consumers. As these wealthy businesses continue to cash in during the ongoing pandemic, they’ve feigned concerns about supply chain issues and consumer costs.  

“For a textbook example of corporate greed, look no further than big businesses  taking advantage of working families and small businesses as the economy recovers from a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic,” said Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US. “Massive corporations thriving from record sales are using inflation as a sorry excuse to jack up prices for struggling consumers, and Republican lawmakers are letting them get away with it. If congressional Republicans and wealthy businesses were serious about addressing inflation, they wouldn’t undermine the Build Back Better agenda and its targeted investments to fix supply chain issues and tackle labor shortages.”  

In November, Accountable.US released an analysis identifying 12 major corporations that have reported nearly $11 billion in profits the same quarter they announced price increases, along with over $34 billion in stock buybacks and dividends this year. The Biden administration has also been rightly criticizing the meat industry’s “‘pandemic profiteering,’” which has driven half of food price hikes as millions of Americans are struggling against a worsening hunger crisis.  

 

KEY POINTS FROM THE RESEARCH:  

  • Just Last Week, Best Buy Boasted Of “Record Q3 Financial Results Of $11.9 Billion In Sales” Due To Higher Consumer Appliance Prices, One Of The “Biggest Contributors” To Its Increased Quarterly Sales– That Same Quarter Best Buy Spent $405 Million Buying Back Company Stock.
     
  • In Mid-November 2021, Walmart Touted “Strong Sales And Profit Growth In Each Of Our Segments”—The Corporation Noted That Groceries Led Sales Growth And That “Low To Mid Single Digit Inflation Benefited Results” For Grocery Sales, Which Helped The Company Buy Back $2.2 Billion In Stock During Its Third Quarter.
     
  • In September 2021, Kroger Flaunted That The Company’s Second Quarter Sales Were “Above Our Internal Expectations” While Admitting To “Passing Along Higher Cost” To Customers–That Same Quarter Kroger Spent $349 Million Buying Back Company Stock.  

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