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>Competitive markets are by far more the exception than the rule it's just not how capitalism works

Empirically this absolutely isn't the case; the majority of listed companies have fairly low margins, especially non-tech companies, which can be trivially seen from their financial statements. A low profit margin means a competitive market (because if it wasn't a competitive market the firm could raise its prices to obtain higher margins).

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> A low profit margin means a competitive market (because if it wasn't a competitive market the firm could raise its prices to obtain higher margins).

Not necessarily: if prices are elastic then even a monopoly can aim for low profit margin (in percentage) in order to increase profit. What matters is how much total profit are being made, margin only matters when measuring risk.

Also, corporations are social structures, and low competition also encourage complacency in the corporate structure itself, which drives costs up and reduces profit margin.

In addition, a low profit margin may increase lifetime profits by deterring potential competitors.

Might there be other reasons to report lower profits?

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