“Profit is the money a business pulls in after accounting for all expenses. Whether it's a lemonade stand or a publicly-traded multinational company, the primary goal of any business is to earn money, therefore a business performance is based on profitability, in its various forms.”
— What Is Profit? by Will Kenton/Investopedia Updated Nov 13, 2019
Once made, profits may be:
Taken out of the business, e.g. pay a dividend to business owners/shareholders
Retained in the business, either as cash or by investing the profit into new assets
Dividends are typically modest. For example, the majority of companies in the S&P 500 index have an average dividend yield of approximately 2%. Retained earnings can be used various ways. For example, they may be used to:
Expand the existing business operations.
Launch a new product.
Fund a possible merger, acquisition, or partnership to improve business prospects.
Buy back shares that may be undervalued.
Repay any outstanding loan the business may have.
This all sounds like a reasonable use of money. People who invest in a business should be rewarded in some way. Companies should have money left over after expenses. Profit insures investors will be paid and investments will be made. In other words, profit is the guarantee of continued survival in a competitive world. So why do so many people regard the profit motive as morally suspect?
I’m thinking people are ambivalent about profit because they’re ambivalent about self-interest. They want motives to be pure. Good luck with that.