Earnings Watch: Will companies continue to raise prices to maintain their record profit margins?

As earnings season kicks into high gear, there is one major question that could determine where stocks and inflation will head from here: Will companies continue to raise prices or cut costs in an attempt to maintain the record profit margins of 2021?

As this column discussed three months ago, the S&P 500 index’s SPX record profit margin in 2021 was a historical anomaly, topping 12% when it had never before hit 11%. Wall Street analysts at the time expected record margins to continue through this year and into 2023 and 2024,…