Stable profit rates in a time of rising market power: the role of financial and intangible assets in the US corporate sector
研究发现1980年后美国企业利润率（利润/资产）保持稳定，而利润率（利润/销售）上升近50%，原因是企业每美元资产的销售额下降，反映了金融和无形资产的增长，这些资产与巩固市场力量的竞争策略相关。
Abstract While the aggregate profit margin (profits to sales) rises almost 50% after 1980, the profit rate (profits to assets) is steady. We reconcile these two pictures of profitability by showing that firms’ sales per dollar of assets fall after 1980, reflecting growth in financial and intangible assets. This result suggests that firms receive lower sales on financial and intangible assets than on fixed capital, and links these asset holdings to competitive strategies that consolidate market power while also inflating asset values.