“In the second quarter of this year, U.S. corporate profits totalled $1.8 trillion after taxes. Massive corporate profit is not limited to the United States, although many of the world’s most profitable companies, including Apple, are U.S. based. Earnings of the world’s 10 most profitable companies, totalled $223.2 billion last year. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed companies’ operating income figures. While net income is the standard measure of profits, it can include items that do not reflect profitability such as extraordinary and discontinued items and sales of subsidiaries or major holdings. Earnings from continuing operations, however, excludes such items. Based on net income from continuing operations, one measure of profitability, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the world’s 10 most profitable publicly traded companies.”