• Profits rose 4.5% in second quarter after year-long slide
• ‘Labor is spoiling for a fight,’ Santander’s Stanley says

US corporate profits are on the rise again following four straight quarters of declines, according to government data out Wednesday.

After-tax profits for nonfinancial firms rose 4.5% in the second quarter, a Bureau of Economic Analysis report on gross domestic product showed. Measured as a share of gross value added — a proxy for aggregate profit margins — they rose to 14.3% from 13.8%.