From 1980 to 2013 global corporate after-tax operating profits grew 30% faster than global GDP; today they stand at about 9.8% of global GDP, up from 7.6% in 1980. Corporate net income grew more than 50% faster than global GDP, from 4.4% of global GDP in 1980 to 7.6% in 2013. North American and Western European companies now capture more than half of global profits. North American firms increased their post-tax margins by 65% over the past three decades; today their after-tax profits, measured as a share of national income, are at their highest level since 1929.