Corporate profits are booming. That may leave padding to absorb higher wages.

U.S. corporate profits have never been fatter — or accounted for a bigger portion of economic growth, recent figures released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis show.

Third-quarter after-tax profits made up about 11% of GDP, a measure experts typically use to gauge the nation's economic health. It's been nearly a decade since that proportion was even close, according to BEA figures.

One reason? Companies were able to boost prices amid supply chain snags, leaving consumers paying more for everything from gasoline to food to toys. Corporate expenses haven't climbed as quickly, even as firms grapple with labor shortages and higher wages. On average, profit margins rose almost 13% in the third quarter, higher than the five-year average, according to figures from FactSet.