Which Thai Business Sectors Lose Money by Net Margin 2026
In short
Two of Thailand's business sectors reported an aggregate net loss as of 2 July 2026. Arts, entertainment and recreation came in at a net margin of -0.24 percent. Other service activities finished at -0.07 percent. Every other section turned a profit. The national aggregate margin sits at a positive 4.42 percent. Financial and insurance leads the whole economy at 26.90 percent. A sector losing money outright is rare in the registry, which makes these two worth a close look.
Which sectors actually lose money?
Almost every registered sector in Thailand makes money. Two do not. Arts, entertainment and recreation, TSIC section R, reported an aggregate net margin of -0.24 percent as of 2 July 2026. That reading covers 18,486 companies. Other service activities, section S, came in just below the line at -0.07 percent. Its accounts span 20,455 companies. The arts sector turned 133.6 billion baht of revenue into a reported net loss of about 326 million baht. Other services gave back about 55 million baht on 83.9 billion baht of revenue. No other section finished below zero. The national aggregate margin, by contrast, sits at a positive 4.42 percent. Financial and insurance tops the whole table at 26.90 percent. So the gap between the best sector and the worst is more than 27 points of margin.
Net profit margin by sector, top to bottom
- Financial and insurance27
- Mining and quarrying13
- Human health and social work11
- Real estate8
- Manufacturing4
- Wholesale and retail trade1
- Other service activities-0
- Arts, entertainment and recreation-0
Figures in percent net margin.
The national aggregate margin is 4.42 percent. Only arts and other services, the two rightmost bars, fall below zero.
The two loss-making sectors in detail
| Sector, TSIC section | Companies | Revenue, THB billion | Net margin | Reported net loss | Survival rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arts, entertainment and recreation, R | 18,486 | 134 | -0.24% | 326 million baht | 49.1% |
| Other service activities, S | 20,455 | 84 | -0.07% | 55 million baht | 61.8% |
The only two TSIC sections with an aggregate net loss, as of 2 Jul 2026.
Why this matters
A sector-wide loss is unusual, and it does not mean the businesses inside are failing one by one. Section totals are dominated by their largest filers, so a small number of big loss-making companies can pull an entire section under while thousands of smaller operators stay in the black. The arts sector shows this tension most clearly. Its survival rate is just 49.1 percent, the kind of churn you expect from venues, studios and event companies that live and die with each booking cycle. Other services, a mix of repair shops, personal care and membership bodies, holds a steadier survival rate of 61.8 percent and still finished fractionally in the red. There is a wider point here. The arts and entertainment sector sits inside a creative economy that NESDC values near 8 percent of national output, yet its filed company accounts show an aggregate loss. Cultural weight and accounting profit are not the same thing. For anyone lending to, investing in or supplying these two sectors, the takeaway is to underwrite the individual company, never the sector average.
Definitions
- Net margin
- Net profit as a share of revenue. A margin of -0.24 percent means the section lost about 24 satang for every 100 baht of revenue.
- Aggregate margin
- Total section net profit divided by total section revenue, rather than the average of each company's own margin. Large filers therefore weigh more than small ones.
- TSIC section
- A top-level industry grouping in the Thailand Standard Industrial Classification, labelled with a letter such as R for arts and S for other services.
- Survival rate
- The share of registered companies in a section that remain active rather than dissolved or dormant.
- Reported net loss
- The amount by which a section's total costs exceeded its total revenue across all filed accounts.
Assumptions
- Only companies that filed a financial statement contribute to the section margin.
- Section aggregates are dominated by the largest filers, so the sector figure can differ sharply from the typical company inside it.
- Revenue and loss figures are rounded to the values stated in the source brief.
- The NESDC creative-economy share is a national context figure and does not feed the registry margins.
Methodology
Net margin is aggregate net profit divided by aggregate revenue for every company in a TSIC section that filed a financial statement, drawn from the Department of Business Development registry as of 2 July 2026. A section is counted as loss-making when that aggregate is below zero. Revenue and reported net loss are section-wide totals, not per-company figures. Survival rate is the share of registered companies in the section that remain active. Margins are aggregates, not simple averages of individual company margins.
How we verified this
- Arts recompute: a reported net loss of 326 million baht on 133.6 billion baht of revenue equals a margin of -0.24 percent, matching the brief.
- Other services recompute: a reported net loss of 55 million baht on 83.9 billion baht of revenue equals -0.07 percent, matching the brief.
- Both sectors confirmed below zero and confirmed as the only two negative sections, while the national aggregate margin is positive at 4.42 percent.
- Combined reported net loss of the two sectors sums to 381 million baht, from 326 million plus 55 million.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and aggregated financial statements. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
- Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council. (2024). National accounts and the creative economy. NESDC, Thailand. https://www.nesdc.go.th/en/info/national-accounts/
Frequently asked questions
Which sectors in Thailand lose money?
Two TSIC sections reported an aggregate net loss as of 2 July 2026: arts, entertainment and recreation at -0.24 percent net margin, and other service activities at -0.07 percent. Every other section was profitable.
How big are these losses in baht?
The arts sector reported a net loss of about 326 million baht on 133.6 billion baht of revenue. Other services lost about 55 million baht on 83.9 billion baht of revenue. Together the two sectors gave back roughly 381 million baht.
Does a negative sector margin mean every company is losing money?
No. Section totals are pulled by their largest filers, so a few big loss-making companies can drag the aggregate below zero while most smaller firms in the section still make a profit.
Is the wider economy profitable?
Yes. The national aggregate net margin is a positive 4.42 percent, and financial and insurance leads all sectors at 26.90 percent.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Which Thai Business Sectors Lose Money by Net Margin 2026. Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/which-thai-business-sectors-lose-money-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.