While Q1 corporate profit growth will likely be flat due to bad weather, a strong dollar and weak exports, global growth and oil prices, corporate profits have been lackluster for some time. Following a Great Recession annualized low of $674.1 billion in Q4/08, profits rapidly rose to an annualized $1.8 trillion in Q3/13, which pushed equities up, but profits have since stalled and ended Q4/14 at an annualized $1.84 trillion.