Polish enterprises are clearly improving their financial performance after a weaker period. According to the latest preliminary data from Statistics Poland for the first quarter of 2026, companies increased revenues, improved profitability and returned to stronger investment activity. The survey covered 17,142 enterprises keeping accounting books and employing at least 50 people.
The most important sign of improvement is the increase in the net financial result. In the first quarter of 2026, it reached PLN 50.8 billion, compared with PLN 42.2 billion a year earlier, which means an increase of 20.5% year on year. Net profit rose by 15.1%, to PLN 73.9 billion. The improvement was therefore visible not only in revenues, but also in companies’ bottom-line performance.
Total revenues of the surveyed enterprises amounted to PLN 1,321.6 billion and were 5.7% higher than a year earlier. Costs grew more slowly — by 4.9%, to PLN 1,256.2 billion. This means that the cost-to-revenue ratio improved, and companies recovered part of the margins lost during the period of weaker economic conditions and cost pressure.
The improvement is also visible in the result on sales. In the first quarter of 2026, it amounted to PLN 64.7 billion, compared with PLN 52.6 billion a year earlier. This represents an increase of 22.9%. This is important because it points to an improvement in companies’ core operations, rather than only the impact of one-off events or financial operations.
The gross sales profitability ratio increased to 5.1%, compared with 4.3% a year earlier. Gross turnover profitability stood at 4.9%, while net turnover profitability reached 3.8%. In comparison, in the first quarter of 2025 these figures stood at 4.3% and 3.4%, respectively. The data therefore indicate that companies are not only selling more, but are doing so more efficiently.
However, not all sectors improved to the same extent. A strong rebound was recorded in mining and quarrying, where net turnover profitability rose from minus 7.5% to 6.5%. Information and communication also performed well, with profitability increasing from 6.7% to 7.5%, while professional and scientific activities improved from 3.3% to 5.8%.
Construction remains a weak spot. In this sector, net turnover profitability fell from 2.9% to just 0.7%. This suggests that, despite the overall improvement in corporate results, some industries are still operating under pressure from costs, price competition and more difficult contract execution conditions. Profitability also deteriorated in accommodation and food services, as well as in some administrative support activities.
A key element of the Statistics Poland data is the return of investment growth. Corporate investment outlays increased by 8.7% year on year in the first quarter of 2026 and reached PLN 42.4 billion. This marks an important change after a previous period of stagnation and decline. A year earlier, investment outlays had fallen by 3.6%.
The strongest growth was recorded in investment in transport equipment, which rose by 17.1%. Spending on machinery and equipment increased by 7.8%, while outlays on buildings and structures rose by 5.4%. By sector, the leader was transportation and storage, where investment outlays jumped by as much as 48.6%. The rebound in investment may indicate a renewed willingness among companies to modernise, expand capacity and renew fleets.
The data also show changes in the cost structure. The share of materials consumption is falling, while the importance of external services is rising. This may suggest that enterprises are increasingly using outsourcing and specialised external services, while reducing some simpler processes carried out internally.
The picture for exporters remains moderately positive. Export revenues increased by 2.9%, while the share of companies generating revenues from foreign sales stood at 51.4%, compared with 52.8% a year earlier. At the same time, the share of exporters reporting a net profit rose to 68.8%, from 66.9% a year earlier.
The preliminary data for the first quarter of 2026 suggest that Polish companies are returning to a growth path after a more difficult period. Improved financial results, slower cost growth than revenue growth and a rebound in investment create a more favourable picture of the corporate sector than in previous quarters. At the same time, sector-level data show that the recovery is not evenly distributed — construction, in particular, remains under margin pressure.
