The role of profits in the European inflation shock

Inflation in Slovakia exceeded 10% in both 2022 and 2023. The most commonly cited causes of this trend include soaring energy prices, the outbreak of war in Ukraine, and supply chain disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, new research suggests there may be more to the story. 

In 2022, company profits accounted for 59% of inflation in the UK and 54% in the US. The International Monetary Fund noted a 45% share in the EU. As a result, some international media and researchers have begun using the term “greedflation”—inflation driven by corporate greed.

To explore the growing role of corporate profits in driving inflation and what lessons we can draw from the 2022–2023 crisis to better prepare for future inflation shocks, the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS), in collaboration with Proforum and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Slovakia, organised a public conference in Bratislava on 17 June 2025. 

The event kicked off with a presentation by Thomas Rabensteiner, one of the authors of the recent FEPS study on “The profit-price spiral in food and energy”, shedding light on inflationary processes in two key sectors in the EU, food and energy.

To contextualise the findings in Slovakia, Anton Marcinčin, Researcher at the Comenius University Bratislava, launched and presented the FEPS-Proforum-FES policy brief on “The role of profits in the European inflation shock: The case of Slovakia” (in Slovak: “Rast cien kvôli rekordným ziskom? – Poučenia zo šokovej inflácie v EÚ na prípade Slovenska”), which he authored.

The first part of this in-person event was held in English, and the second part was in Slovak.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact Vanessa Zwisele, FEPS Project Officer (vanessa.zwisele@feps-europe.eu)