BENGALURU: Global corporate profits in the third quarter are likely to fall for the first time in 18 months after record earnings in April-June, Reuters calculations showed, as the spreading COVID-19 Delta variant squeezes supply chains and raises labour costs. But profits are estimated to fall 8% on average to $678.2 billion in the July-September quarter. Profits at U.S. firms are estimated to decline 7.2% in the third quarter, data showed, after rising 12.4% in the second quarter. A strong dollar could hurt U.S. exporters and a further fall in interest rates could squeeze profits at banks, said James Solloway, chief market strategist at wealth manager SEI. Average net margins at global firms are expected to drop to 10.66% in the third quarter from 11.43% in the second quarter.
