Sentence:  The slaves never shared in their profits , while they did share , in a very real sense , in the <WSD>profits</WSD> of the slave owners : they were fed , clothed , doctored , and so forth ; they were the beneficiaries of responsible , paternalistic care . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  the excess of revenues over outlays in a given period of time (including depreciation and other non-cash expenses)