The North Carolina Rural Health Research Program has been tracking rural hospital profitability for more than a decade, as many small rural hospitals struggle with profitability compared to their urban counterparts. The findings brief, Rural Hospital Profitability during the Global COVID-19 Pandemic Requires Careful Interpretation, describes the pre-pandemic (2011-19) trend of rural hospital profitability and explains why possible increases in reported profitability during the pandemic (2020-21) may mask the long-term financial challenges of rural hospitals.