[CapriciousCptl]

I don't understand the point you're making. Stagnant corporate profits can happen for a lot of good reasons, particularly when there's GDP growth over the same period. Increased labor pay, increased competition, cheaper and higher quality products for consumers, long-term minded growth at the expense of short-term profit taking, etc.

Profit also involves some major accounting nuances. In SAAS, for instance, advertising costs resulting in customer acquisitions are generally accounted for upfront, reducing accounting profits in the period of acquisition. This is opposed to other industries, where investments are more easily capitalized and then charged over their useful life.