What Executives Are Saying About the ‘K-Shaped’ Economy

The U.S. economy is growing, but not evenly. What began as an uneven rebound from the Covid pandemic has hardened into a “K-shaped” pattern, in which higher-income households pull ahead while lower-income households fall further behind. High interest rates, rising costs and the rapid growth of artificial intelligence could deepen those divides, economists warn.

We are returning to a typical pattern of extremely high income inequality, and it now stands at a 60-year peak, Beth Ann Bovino, chief economist at U.S. Bank, wrote in a recent report. The net worth of the top 1 percent climbed to a record share of nearly 32 percent of the national total in the third quarter of 2025, Federal Reserve data show.

Spending has split as well: households earning under $75,000 are spending less on discretionary categories like travel and experiences than in 2019, while those making more than $150,000 are spending more, according to the Bank of America Institute.

United States

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