Good Products + Good Practices = Good Profits

It’s an age-old question “Is making a profit the purpose of a business?”

The answer may surprise you.

The statement, “As the sole source of wealth creation in the world, [business] enables every other social, civic and even spiritual institution to exist,” is a maxim promoted in Discover God’s Story for Investing series. However, the publisher is quick to remind people that good profits are the result of good products and good practices.

The same sentiment is echoed in Deuteronomy 8:17-18: “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth […]”

Supporting Charities

A quick check on charitable giving statistics shows that supporting groups or causes is part of the fabric of American culture for both individuals and businesses.”^1,2

• Individuals account for the lion’s share of charitable contributions.
• Nearly 3 in 4 (72%) people have donated money to charity.
• Corporate giving is growing as more companies offer a wider range of charitable-giving programs to employees.

Investing Supports Good Businesses

The Discover God’s Story for Investing series presents an argument that all businesses need capital so they can help fund their activities, such as operational costs, innovation, and expansion. Businesses often approach investors to provide the capital, and in exchange, investors should expect a return on their investment. However, investors may be more comfortable if the business has values that are in line with their own.

The Discover God’s Story for Investing series also concluded that “the primary purpose of investing is to supply capital to enable and enlarge the work of good business.”  

Five Reasons Why Secondary Markets Support Business

In the Discover God’s Story for Investing series, five compelling reasons are offered to explain why an individual would choose to support a business. In this instance, the series examined the secondary market, which has a number of companies competing for investor dollars.

1. Our investments in the secondary market help companies directly. If a company uses its capital to create good products using good services, then individuals may be more comfortable with the good profits it creates.
2. The primary market depends on the secondary market for its survival. There were 225 initial public offerings in 2024, a 46% increase from 2023 but well below the 1,035 IPOs in 2021. Companies are constantly looking to raise capital. How companies will use the money can help you decide which ones to support.³
3. Management teams are exquisitely sensitive to share price. In 2024, 1,824 chief executive officers (CEOs) announced their departures—the highest number since Challenger Gray began tracking CEO changes in 2002. Management teams need to woo support by engaging in compelling business practices.⁴
4. As shareholders, we have a governance power at companies. Shareholders rarely have the power to remove a company executive, but they do influence the board of directors, which has the power to remove or add an executive.⁵
5. Our collective efforts have tremendous force. The many have more power than the few, especially in corporate America.

The Discover God’s Story for Investing series concludes with the idea that financial markets serve a key economic function. They move capital from businesses that no longer serve a purpose to businesses we need today. By focusing on good products and good services, businesses may find they can amplify their good deeds in the long run.