Financial Sector Nets 25.4% Margin, IT Just 5.8%, 2026
In short
Financial and insurance companies average 133.1 million baht in revenue per firm and keep 25.4 percent of it as net profit, a margin more than four times the 5.8 percent that information and communication firms manage. Finance counts 35,567 companies on the register against 52,537 for information and communication. Yet the average finance company banks over 16 times more net profit each year. Return on assets flips the story though, 1.80 percent for finance against 2.36 percent for information and communication, because bank balance sheets carry far more capital per firm.
Which sector wins on profit per company?
Financial and insurance takes it, and by a wide margin, literally. The section books 25.4 percent net margin against 5.8 percent for information and communication (DBD, 2026). That gap holds up under every angle. The average finance company pulls in 133.1 million baht in revenue a year, compared to 36.0 million baht for the average IT or telecom firm, a difference of roughly 3.7 times. On net profit the gap widens further. A typical finance company nets about 32.7 million baht a year, versus roughly 2.0 million baht for the average information and communication company, a 16-fold difference. None of this is because finance has more competitors crowding the register. It has fewer. Just 35,567 companies file under financial and insurance, compared to 52,537 under information and communication, a difference of 16,970 firms.
Profitability metrics, financial and insurance vs information and communication
- Finance net margin25
- IT net margin6
- Finance return on equity7
- IT return on equity6
- Finance return on assets2
- IT return on assets2
Figures in percent.
Finance dominates on margin and equity return. Information and communication actually converts assets into profit more efficiently.
Financial and insurance vs information and communication, side by side
| Metric | Financial and insurance | Information and communication |
|---|---|---|
| Companies on the register | 35,567 | 52,537 |
| Companies with filed financials | 25,697 | 38,784 |
| Total sector revenue | 3.30 trillion baht | 1.33 trillion baht |
| Average revenue per company | 133.1 million baht | 36.0 million baht |
| Total sector net profit | 839.19 billion baht | 77.34 billion baht |
| Average net profit per company | 32.7 million baht | 2.0 million baht |
| Net margin | 25.4% | 5.8% |
| Return on equity | 6.71% | 5.57% |
| Return on assets | 1.80% | 2.36% |
| Average total assets per company | 1.81 billion baht | 84.4 million baht |
| Top company by revenue | Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited | Advanced Wireless Network Co., Ltd. |
| Top company revenue | 202.5 billion baht | 198.4 billion baht |
Section-level aggregates from filed financial statements, as of 7 Jul 2026.
Why this matters
Margin alone makes finance look like the clear winner, and on the register it is. Finance turns one baht of revenue into 25 satang of profit, information and communication turns the same baht into under six satang. But flip to return on assets and information and communication actually comes out ahead, 2.36 percent against 1.80 percent. The reason is capital. The average finance company carries 1.81 billion baht in assets on its books, mostly loans, investments and reserves that banks and insurers are required to hold. The average IT or telecom company carries just 84.4 million baht. Finance's high margin partly reflects how banks and insurers book revenue, as interest and premium income rather than the full value of goods sold, so it is not a clean comparison to a trading business. What is genuinely comparable is scale. Bangkok Bank alone reported 202.5 billion baht in revenue, and Advanced Wireless Network, the mobile carrier, reported 198.4 billion baht, almost the same number despite sitting in sectors with very different average outcomes. Company count also tells its own story. Information and communication has grown into the larger sector by headcount, likely a legacy of low barriers to starting a software house, agency or small telecom reseller, while financial licensing keeps the register in finance comparatively short.
Definitions
- Net margin
- Net profit as a share of revenue. A margin of 25.4 percent means 25.4 satang of profit for every baht of revenue, calculated here as total sector net profit divided by total sector revenue.
- Return on assets, ROA
- Net profit divided by average total assets. It measures how efficiently a company turns what it owns into profit, independent of how much revenue it books.
- Return on equity, ROE
- Net profit divided by average shareholder equity. It measures the return generated on owners' invested capital.
- TSIC section
- One of 21 lettered top-level categories in the Thailand Standard Industrial Classification. Section J is information and communication, section K is financial and insurance activities.
- Companies with filed financial data
- The subset of registered companies in a section that submitted a usable financial statement to the DBD, which is smaller than the full count of registered companies and is the denominator for average revenue and average profit figures.
Assumptions
- Averages per company use only companies with a filed and usable financial statement, not the full count of registered entities in each section.
- Financial and insurance companies recognise revenue as interest and premium income rather than the gross value of goods sold, so their margin is not directly comparable to a trading or service business.
- Return on assets and return on equity are calculated from average balance sheet figures across reporting companies, not from a matched pair of beginning and ending balances for each firm.
Methodology
Net margin is aggregate net profit divided by aggregate revenue for all companies in a TSIC section that filed a financial statement, drawn from the DBD registry as of 7 July 2026. Return on assets and return on equity divide aggregate net profit by the average total assets and average total equity reported within the section. Section J covers information and communication and section K covers financial and insurance activities, the two lettered TSIC sections defined by the DBD registry. Averages per company use only companies that filed usable financial data, not the full count of registered entities.
How we verified this
- Net margin for section K recomputed as 839,194,964,359.76 divided by 3,303,685,444,529.50, giving 25.402 percent, matching the stored net_margin of 25.40 percent.
- Net margin for section J recomputed as 77,344,305,682.43 divided by 1,332,051,340,194.99, giving 5.806 percent, matching the stored net_margin of 5.8 percent.
- Margin ratio recomputed as 25.402 divided by 5.806, giving 4.37, confirming finance's margin is more than four times information and communication's.
- Average revenue ratio recomputed as 133,116,505.94 divided by 36,029,627.01, giving 3.69.
- Average net profit ratio recomputed as 32,701,853.49 divided by 1,996,909.68, giving 16.38.
- Company count gap recomputed as 52,537 minus 35,567, giving 16,970 more information and communication companies than financial and insurance companies.
- Asset intensity ratio recomputed as 1,814,432,192.43 divided by 84,428,744.98, giving 21.49, confirming finance companies carry over 21 times the average assets of information and communication companies.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and financial statement aggregates. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
- Nation Thailand. (2026). Thai banking system remains stable in 2025 despite lower profits. https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/business/banking-finance/40062641
Frequently asked questions
Is Thailand's financial and insurance sector more profitable than its information and communication sector?
Yes, on net margin. Financial and insurance companies keep 25.4 percent of revenue as net profit against 5.8 percent for information and communication, a gap of more than four times.
Which sector has more registered companies, finance or IT?
Information and communication has more. It counts 52,537 companies against 35,567 for financial and insurance, a difference of 16,970 companies.
Does finance also lead on return on assets?
No. Information and communication posts a higher return on assets, 2.36 percent against 1.80 percent for finance, because bank and insurer balance sheets carry far more capital per firm.
How much revenue does the average company make in each sector?
A typical financial and insurance company reports 133.1 million baht in annual revenue. A typical information and communication company reports 36.0 million baht.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Financial Sector Nets 25.4% Margin, IT Just 5.8%, 2026. Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/information-communication-vs-financial-insurance-in-thailand-2026
Data & corrections
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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.
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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.