Yes, even during stagflation. Inflation means the price of some things rise really fast, and profits grow together, while other things rise very slowly, profits go negative and the companies stop being measured on that indicator.
Besides, as a rule, inflation pushes earning into the things that are renegotiated often. That is most of the companies prices (they are renegotiated every time you go in a store), and almost none of the workers salaries.
If a business' costs go up, they can raise their prices to maintain their margins.
> How much inflation can be explained by the changes in the labor pool and government spending, compared to companies just charging more and hoarding more?
If the main components are food and energy, then the things you listed are less likely to be the causes. Though energy prices could be a reflection (pre-Ukraine) of more economic activity generally as people stop staying at home and (e.g.) travel.
That's...normal.
Outside of stagflation (which is exceptional among inflationary conditions, hence the special name) inflation tends to be positively correlated with economic growth which is positively correlated with profits
Inflation suddenly becoming an issue right around the same time that a rapid bounce back from the COVID slowdown took hold wasn't a weird coincidence.
What does it really mean when inflation is going crazy, but also many businesses are making really absurd, record profits? Is that a normal occurrence in periods of high inflation? It really feels more like price gouging than inflation to me, but like I said, I'm ignorant about economics.
How much inflation can be explained by the changes in the labor pool and government spending, compared to companies just charging more and hoarding more?