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$2,500 More for Groceries. Record Corporate Profits.
Tariffs added $2,500 to the average family grocery bill. The Joint Economic Committee calculated $330 billion in total costs passed to consumers. Harvard and University of Chicago economists found 96% of tariff costs are paid by American buyers, not foreign countries.
$2,500 per family in grocery costs. ExxonMobil earned $28.8 billion and returned $37.2 billion to shareholders. Kroger’s gross margin rose to 24.1%. S&P 500 earnings grew 10 consecutive quarters.
While families absorb these costs, S&P 500 earnings grew for 10 consecutive quarters. 2026 earnings per share are forecast to grow 14.9%.
The Numbers Side by Side
ExxonMobil earned $28.8 billion in 2025 and distributed $37.2 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. That is more than they earned. Chevron posted $9.5 billion through the first three quarters alone.
Kroger’s gross margin rose to 24.1% in 2026, up from 23.5% the prior year. Walmart hit 24.1%. Both chains expanded margins while their customers paid higher prices. Prices went up. Margins went up. Somebody absorbed the cost, and it was not the companies.
A Bill Exists. It Has 12 Cosponsors.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse introduced S. 4111, the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act, with 12 cosponsors including Baldwin, Kaine, Sanders, and Warren. The bill targets companies producing 300,000+ barrels per day with a 50% tax on per-barrel price increases above the prior year average. Revenue would fund rebates for individuals earning under $75,000.
Sen. Sanders reintroduced the Ending Corporate Greed Act, a broader 95% windfall tax on excessive profits of large corporations for 2024-2026, modeled on wartime precedents.
Neither bill has received a committee vote.
What you can do now
- Call both senators and ask them to cosponsor S. 4111, the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act. It has 12 cosponsors including Baldwin, Kaine, Sanders, and Warren. The bill would impose a 50% tax on per-barrel price increases above the prior year average for companies producing 300,000+ barrels per day. Revenue would fund rebates for individuals earning under $75,000. Use Resist Bot to send your message.
- Contact your House representative and ask them to support the Ending Corporate Greed Act, a 95% windfall tax on excessive profits of large corporations modeled on wartime precedents. ExxonMobil earned $28.8 billion in 2025 and returned $37.2 billion to shareholders. That is more than they earned, while families absorbed $2,500 in added grocery costs.
- Ask your senators to demand hearings on grocery industry margins. Kroger’s gross margin rose to 24.1% in 2026, up from 23.5%. Walmart hit the same number. Both expanded margins while their customers paid higher prices from tariffs. Harvard and University of Chicago economists found 96% of tariff costs are paid by American buyers.
- Find your full delegation at your state page and tell them that neither the windfall profits bill nor the corporate greed bill has received a committee vote. S&P 500 earnings grew for 10 consecutive quarters while families absorbed $330 billion in tariff costs. Ask them whose side they are on.