[InspiredIdiot]

Peak inflation was last June at 9.1% CPI. It is now 4% https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/economy/2023/06/13/cpi-...

Also, unlike quarterly profits of a business inflation is calculated relative to the same month in the previous year, so that adds up to a year of lag instead of only a quarter of lag for quarterly profits.

So the range of quarterly profits between approximately Q2 2021 and Q2 2022 would be the best time range to compare with the June 2022 inflation. Lo and behold, peak inflation coincides with the highest quarterly profits ever recorded. [Edit: Well, not highest "ever recorded" but rather highest recorded in the 70 years of data from the chart you provided.]

That doesn't prove causation but it is completely consistent with GP's contention.