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Thursday, March 28, 2019 Contact: Jeannine Aversa, (301) 278-9003 GDP INCREASES IN FOURTH QUARTER “Third” estimate of GDP Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the “third” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The growth rate was revised down 0.4 percentage point from the “initial” estimate released in February. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 3.4 percent. These contributions were partly offset by decreases in housing investment and government spending. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased. Quarter-to-Quarter Growth in Real GDP 5 4 Percent Fourth-quarter GDP highlights The increase in real GDP reflected increases in consumer spending, business investment, exports, and inventory investment. 3 2 1 0 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2015 2016 2017 2018 Real GDP growth is measured at seasonally adjusted annual rates. Updates to GDP The downward revision to real GDP growth was primarily accounted for by revisions to consumer spending, state and local government spending, and business investment that were partly offset by a downward revision to imports. For additional information see the technical note. Corporate profits Corporate profits decreased 0.4 percent at a quarterly rate in the fourth quarter of 2018 after increasing 3.5 percent in the third. Quarter-to-Quarter Growth in Corporate Profits 4 2 Percent • Profits of domestic nonfinancial corporations increased 1.0 percent after increasing 6.4 percent. • Profits of domestic financial corporations decreased 5.6 percent after decreasing 1.3 percent. • Profits from the rest of the world increased 0.4 percent after increasing 0.3 percent. 6 0 -2 -4 -6 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2015 2016 2017 2018 Corporate profits growth is measured as the percent change from the previous quarter. Corporate profits with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments increased 7.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017. BEA data—including GDP, personal income, the balance of payments, foreign direct investment, the input-output accounts, and regional economic data—are available at www.bea.gov. E-mail alerts are also available. T he “ advance” estimate of GDP for the first quarter of 2019 will be released on April 26, 2019.
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