Construction vs Real Estate Companies in Thailand 2026
In short
Construction and real estate are Thailand's two property-adjacent sectors, yet they sit at opposite ends of the profit table. Construction spans 283,534 registered companies, nearly twice real estate's 149,608. Construction's aggregate net margin is just 2.3 percent, while real estate holds 7.7 percent, more than three times higher. Real estate companies also average 643,905 baht in net profit each, over three times construction's 189,328 baht average, despite almost identical average revenue per company.
How do construction and real estate compare in scale and profitability?
Construction is the far bigger sector by company count. Thailand's Department of Business Development lists 283,534 construction companies against 149,608 real estate companies, a gap of nearly two to one (DBD, 2026). Profitability runs the opposite direction. Construction's aggregate net margin is 2.3 percent, among the thinnest of any major sector, while real estate holds 7.7 percent, more than three times higher. Every baht of construction revenue keeps barely two satang of profit. Every baht of real estate revenue keeps almost eight satang. Average revenue per company is nearly identical across the two sectors, so the profit gap has nothing to do with deal size. It comes down to margin.
Profitability metrics, construction versus real estate
- Construction net margin2
- Real estate net margin8
- Construction ROA1
- Real estate ROA1
- Construction ROE3
- Real estate ROE3
Figures in percent.
Real estate leads on net margin and return on equity. Construction edges ahead only on return on assets.
Construction versus real estate, side by side
| Metric | Construction, section F | Real estate, section L |
|---|---|---|
| Registered companies | 283,534 | 149,608 |
| Active companies, TSIC level estimate | 120,488, 42.5% | 93,390, 62.4% |
| Total revenue, baht | 2,324,276,697,821 | 1,250,983,383,197 |
| Total net profit, baht | 53,680,788,277 | 96,333,383,153 |
| Net margin | 2.31% | 7.70% |
| Return on assets | 1.43% | 1.05% |
| Return on equity | 2.55% | 2.69% |
| Average revenue per company, baht | 8,197,524 | 8,361,741 |
| Average net profit per company, baht | 189,328 | 643,905 |
| Top company by revenue | Italian Thai Development | Central Pattana |
TSIC section F, construction, against section L, real estate, as of 7 Jul 2026.
The profit split that scale hides
Combine the two sectors and construction still generates 65.0 percent of their combined revenue, well ahead of real estate's 35.0 percent. Net profit tells a different story. Real estate claims 64.2 percent of the combined 150,014,171,430 baht in profit, construction only 35.8 percent, almost a mirror image of the revenue split. Construction earns its keep through public infrastructure contracts and private building work, and the first half of 2025 exposed how tied that model is to the public purse. Public construction output grew 24.0 percent while private construction fell 2.8 percent over the same period, according to Thailand's National Economic and Social Development Council, NESDC, 2025. Real estate developers hold land and buildings on their books for years before a sale or a lease closes, which is why the sector's return on assets, 1.05 percent, trails construction's 1.43 percent even though its margin runs far higher. A company can earn a fat margin per transaction and still turn its asset base over slowly. Two sectors share a supply chain and a customer base, yet they make money in almost opposite ways.
Definitions
- Net margin
- Aggregate net profit as a share of aggregate revenue for all companies in a section that filed a financial statement.
- Return on assets, ROA
- Aggregate net profit divided by aggregate total assets for a section.
- Return on equity, ROE
- Aggregate net profit divided by aggregate shareholder equity for a section.
- Active company
- A company recorded as operating rather than dormant in the registry's size band or TSIC record.
- TSIC section
- One of the 21 lettered industry categories in Thailand's Standard Industrial Classification, such as F for construction or L for real estate activities.
- Aggregate margin
- Total sector profit divided by total sector revenue, rather than the average of each company's individual margin.
Assumptions
- Only companies that filed a financial statement contribute to revenue, profit, margin, ROA and ROE figures. Companies that never filed are excluded from those ratios.
- Active and inactive counts are estimated from 5 digit TSIC records rolled up to the section level, which total slightly more than the headline section company count, 283,564 against 283,534 for construction and 149,618 against 149,608 for real estate.
- Return on assets and return on equity are aggregate section ratios, not the average of individual company ratios, so a handful of very large companies can move the figure.
Methodology
Figures compare TSIC industry section F, construction, and section L, real estate activities, using the Department of Business Development's registry of Thai juristic persons as of 7 July 2026. Net margin, return on assets and return on equity are aggregate section totals, meaning total net profit divided by total revenue, total assets or total equity, not an average of each company's own ratio. Only companies with a filed financial statement contribute to revenue, profit and margin figures. Active and inactive shares are estimated from the 5 digit TSIC records that roll up into each section, which include a small number of additional records beyond the headline section company count.
How we verified this
- 283,534 divided by 149,608 equals 1.895, confirming construction has nearly twice as many registered companies as real estate.
- 7.70061 percent divided by 2.30957 percent equals 3.33, confirming real estate's net margin is more than three times construction's.
- 643,905 baht divided by 189,328 baht equals 3.40, so real estate companies average about 3.4 times construction's net profit per company even though average revenue per company differs by only 2 percent, 8,361,741 baht against 8,197,524 baht.
- Combined revenue of 3,575,260,081,019 baht splits 65.0 percent construction and 35.0 percent real estate. Combined net profit of 150,014,171,430 baht splits 35.8 percent construction and 64.2 percent real estate, the reverse order.
- Active shares from the TSIC level aggregation are 42.5 percent for construction and 62.4 percent for real estate, each computed as active count divided by total TSIC record count for that section.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and financial statement aggregates. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
- Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council. (2025). Thai economic performance in Q2 of 2025 and the outlook for 2025. NESDC. https://www.nesdc.go.th/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/05.-PRESSENG-Q2-2025-Final-edit.pdf
Frequently asked questions
Which sector has more companies, construction or real estate?
Construction, with 283,534 registered companies against 149,608 for real estate, a ratio of about 1.9 to 1.
Which sector is more profitable, construction or real estate?
Real estate, with a 7.7 percent aggregate net margin against construction's 2.3 percent, more than three times higher.
Why does construction run such a thin margin despite so many companies?
Construction work is largely priced through competitive bidding across a large and fragmented pool of companies, and NESDC data for the first half of 2025 show private construction output actually shrank while public projects carried the sector, both of which squeeze margins.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Construction vs Real Estate Companies in Thailand 2026. Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/construction-vs-real-estate-companies-in-thailand-2026
Data & corrections
Download the data (CSV)Spot something off, or want to ask about the data? Email insights@maxsolutions.co.th. We publish corrections.
Written by
Chatpong L.Founder, Max Data, Max Solutions Co., Ltd.
Chatpong L. leads Max Data, a company-intelligence platform built on Thailand's official business registry. He writes about the structure of the Thai economy using primary registry data. His work covers company formation, industry concentration, and regional business activity.
Related insights
This page reports company-level and aggregate statistics only. It names no individuals and makes no claims about any person. Figures are provided for information and may be revised as source data updates.