Thailand Industries Ranked by Total Profit in Baht, 2026
In short
Manufacturing produced 1.10 trillion baht in net profit across Thailand's registered companies, more than any other industry, as of 7 July 2026. Financial and insurance ranks second at 839.19 billion baht, even though its 25.40 percent net margin is nearly six times manufacturing's 4.37 percent. Wholesale and retail trade lands third at 493.82 billion baht on a margin of just 1.27 percent. The top three sections alone generate 73.9 percent of all profit summed across Thailand's 21 industry sections. Scale, not margin, decides who actually earns the most money in the Thai economy.
Which industry actually earns the most profit?
Manufacturing earned 1.10 trillion baht in net profit across Thailand's registered companies, more than any other industry section, as of 7 July 2026 (DBD, 2026). Financial and insurance ranks second at 839.19 billion baht, a full 258.44 billion baht behind manufacturing. Wholesale and retail trade trails in third at 493.82 billion baht. Financial and insurance still posts the richest net margin in the economy at 25.40 percent, nearly six times manufacturing's 4.37 percent. Manufacturing wins on raw baht because 230,396 companies feed into its total, more than six times the 35,567 companies filed under finance. Margin measures how much of each baht a sector keeps. Total profit measures how much money actually lands in the economy. The two rankings tell very different stories, and most coverage of Thai industry only ever shows the first one.
Total net profit by industry section, billion baht
- Manufacturing1,098
- Financial and insurance839
- Wholesale and retail trade494
- Professional, scientific and technical148
- Transportation and storage135
- Electricity and gas97
- Real estate96
- Information and communication77
- Mining and quarrying63
- Human health and social work57
- Construction54
- Accommodation and food service53
- Administrative and support48
- Agriculture13
- Water and waste11
- Education8
- Other services0
- Public administration0
- Households0
- Extraterritorial-0
- Arts and entertainment-1
Figures in billion baht.
The top three sections generate 73.9 percent of the 3.29 trillion baht summed across all 21 sections. The bottom five sections combined post a net loss of 1.16 billion baht, dragged down by arts and entertainment's 1.49 billion baht shortfall.
All 21 industry sections ranked by total net profit
| Rank | Industry section | Total net profit | Net margin | Companies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manufacturing | 1.10 trillion baht | 4.37% | 230,396 |
| 2 | Financial and insurance | 839.19 billion baht | 25.40% | 35,567 |
| 3 | Wholesale and retail trade | 493.82 billion baht | 1.27% | 715,976 |
| 4 | Professional, scientific and technical | 147.76 billion baht | 13.64% | 138,962 |
| 5 | Transportation and storage | 135.01 billion baht | 6.27% | 85,273 |
| 6 | Electricity and gas | 96.70 billion baht | 11.86% | 7,833 |
| 7 | Real estate | 96.33 billion baht | 7.70% | 149,608 |
| 8 | Information and communication | 77.34 billion baht | 5.81% | 52,537 |
| 9 | Mining and quarrying | 63.01 billion baht | 14.04% | 8,231 |
| 10 | Human health and social work | 57.27 billion baht | 11.07% | 17,294 |
| 11 | Construction | 53.68 billion baht | 2.31% | 283,534 |
| 12 | Accommodation and food service | 53.25 billion baht | 5.66% | 83,598 |
| 13 | Administrative and support | 47.90 billion baht | 4.32% | 100,691 |
| 14 | Agriculture | 12.54 billion baht | 2.55% | 19,259 |
| 15 | Water and waste | 10.72 billion baht | 7.31% | 4,818 |
| 16 | Education | 8.14 billion baht | 13.13% | 13,897 |
| 17 | Other services | 311.99 million baht | 0.36% | 20,455 |
| 18 | Public administration | 14.61 million baht | 5.45% | 38 |
| 19 | Households | 0.42 million baht | 13.67% | 32 |
| 20 | Extraterritorial | -1.85 million baht | -10.00% | 4 |
| 21 | Arts and entertainment | -1.49 billion baht | -1.09% | 18,486 |
Total net profit and net margin by industry section, as of 7 Jul 2026.
Why this matters
A margin ranking flatters a small, rich sector and hides a big, thin one. Thailand's tax base and its exposure to a downturn sit overwhelmingly with manufacturing and wholesale trade, not with the finance sector that posts the flashiest ratio. A four percentage point cut to manufacturing's margin would erase roughly 1.01 trillion baht of profit, more than fifteen times the entire total profit that mining and quarrying earns in a year. Anyone weighing where an economic shock would actually hurt should watch total profit by section, not the margin leaderboard alone. Anyone chasing the highest margin business is chasing a far smaller pool of money than the headline percentage suggests. Manufacturing's low margin is not a weakness on this page. It is the reason the sector carries more of the Thai economy than any other.
Definitions
- Net profit
- The bottom line profit a company reports after all costs, taken directly from its filed financial statement.
- Net margin
- Net profit as a share of revenue. A five percent margin means five satang of profit for every baht of revenue.
- Aggregate margin
- Total sector net profit divided by total sector revenue, rather than the average of each company's own margin.
- TSIC section
- One of 21 fixed ISIC letter categories the DBD uses to classify a company's main business activity, from A for agriculture through U for extraterritorial organizations.
- Total net profit
- The sum of net profit across every company in a section that filed a financial statement, an absolute baht figure rather than a ratio.
Assumptions
- Only companies that filed a financial statement contribute to any total on this page. Unfiled and dormant companies are excluded.
- A company is counted in exactly one section, the one tied to its primary registered business activity, even if it operates in more than one industry.
- Total net profit is an aggregate sum, so a handful of very large companies within a section can dominate its total.
- Public administration, households as employers, and extraterritorial organizations, the three smallest sections, are included for completeness but their totals are too small to be economically meaningful.
Methodology
Total net profit per industry section is the sum of net profit across every company in that TSIC section that filed a financial statement, drawn from the DBD registry via the market_section_insight table as of 7 July 2026. Net margin is that same total net profit divided by total revenue for the section, an aggregate ratio rather than an average of individual company margins. Sections are the 21 fixed ISIC letter categories the registry uses. Companies with an unclassified section, and companies that never filed a financial statement, are excluded from every figure here.
How we verified this
- Sorted all 21 rows of market_section_insight by total_net_profit descending: manufacturing at 1,097,635,469,599.37 baht ranks first, financial and insurance at 839,194,964,359.76 baht second, wholesale and retail trade at 493,820,509,313.79 baht third.
- Divided manufacturing profit by financial and insurance profit: 1,097,635,469,599.37 divided by 839,194,964,359.76 equals 1.308, confirming manufacturing earns 30.8 percent more total baht despite financial and insurance's net margin of 25.40178 percent being 5.82 times manufacturing's 4.36690 percent, since 25.40178 divided by 4.36690 equals 5.817.
- Summed total_net_profit across all 21 sections: 3,289,153,007,725.91 baht, within 0.03 percent of the market_national_insight total of 3,288,219,434,947.74 baht, confirming coverage matches the national aggregate.
- Summed the top three sections by profit, manufacturing, financial and insurance, and wholesale and retail trade: 2,430,650,943,272.92 baht, divided by the 3,289,153,007,725.91 baht sum across all sections equals 73.90 percent.
- Summed entity_count across all 21 sections: 1,986,489, matching the data guide's stated count of companies with a classified industry section.
- Sorted all 21 sections by net_margin descending and located manufacturing at rank 14 of 21 with 4.37 percent, and wholesale and retail trade at rank 18 of 21 with 1.27 percent, confirming both rank far higher by total profit than by margin.
- Multiplied manufacturing's total revenue of 25,135,323,478,519.87 baht by 4 percent: 1,005,412,939,140.79 baht, more than fifteen times mining and quarrying's entire total net profit of 63,012,685,147.27 baht.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and financial statement aggregates. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
- National Economic and Social Development Council. (2025). Thai economic performance in Q4 of 2025 and the outlook for 2026. Office of the Prime Minister, Thailand. https://www.nesdc.go.th/en/download/press-release-47/?ddl=99987
Frequently asked questions
Which industry generates the most total profit in Thailand?
Manufacturing, with 1.10 trillion baht in net profit as of 7 July 2026, more than any other industry section.
Is manufacturing also the most profitable industry by margin?
No. Manufacturing's net margin is 4.37 percent, ranking 14th of 21 sections. Financial and insurance holds the highest margin at 25.40 percent but ranks second in total profit.
Why does wholesale and retail trade rank third in profit despite such a low margin?
Wholesale and retail trade has 715,976 filed companies, the most of any section, so a thin 1.27 percent margin on 38.74 trillion baht of revenue still adds up to 493.82 billion baht in total profit.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Thailand Industries Ranked by Total Profit in Baht, 2026. Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/which-industries-generate-the-most-profit-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.
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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.