Yes, but you have adjust those earnings for inflation... It's even more complex because inflation is variable across industries.

Their increased costs are already factored in because we're talking about profits though so I'm not sure how much use deducting that again would be for determining that.

It is not about deducting but adjusting. In an inflating currency with a constant profit margin, you are basically always going to report "record profits" because a 10% margin on $11 is nominally more than a 10% margin on $10 from a year ago but if the currency inflated 10% in that year, your profit isn't really record because it buys you the same amount of goods and services as it did a year ago.

>companies are also still reporting record profits

Adjusted for inflation?

Their profits account for inflation already in some ways because the increased costs are already accounted for when we're talking about profits by definition.