Serbian companies increased revenue faster than operating expenses in the second quarter of 2026, with the non-financial economy recording 9.7% year-on-year revenue growth against a 7.8% increase in operating costs, preliminary data from the Statistical Office showed. Compared with the first quarter, revenue rose 11%, while operating expenses increased 10.1%.
The 1.9-percentage-point annual gap indicates an improvement in the relationship between business income and operating expenditure, although the figures do not measure corporate profit directly. Revenue and expense data are nominal, meaning that part of the increase may reflect higher prices. Financing costs, depreciation and taxes are also not fully captured by the operating comparison.
Quarterly Growth Shows Wider Cost-Revenue Gap
The second-quarter figures include seasonal effects, making the quarterly increase an imperfect measure of underlying economic activity. Nevertheless, the data show that companies maintained revenue growth while containing the pace of operating-cost increases.
The durability of that trend will depend on the composition of corporate growth. Higher production volumes and exports would provide a different signal from growth driven primarily by prices or concentrated in a small number of sectors. The second half of the year will provide a further test as European demand and domestic costs influence company revenues and margins.
ICT Sector Records Narrow Annual Difference
Serbia’s information and communications sector also recorded faster revenue growth than operating-cost growth in the second quarter. ICT revenue increased 8.3% year on year, while operating expenses rose 8%, according to preliminary official data.
The quarterly comparison was considerably stronger. Revenue increased 9.9% from the first quarter, while expenses rose 5.7%, producing a 4.2-percentage-point gap. The figures are consistent with stronger capacity utilisation, improved pricing or expansion in scalable digital services whose costs do not necessarily increase at the same rate as revenue. Slower recruitment following several years of rapid wage growth in the technology sector could also influence the relationship.
ICT Costs Continue to Absorb Most Revenue Growth
The annual ICT figures provide a narrower margin of improvement than the quarterly data. Revenue exceeded operating-expense growth by only 0.3 percentage points year on year. The data do not establish an equivalent increase in ICT profits because exchange-rate movements, financing costs, taxes and differences between telecommunications, software and other digital businesses can affect final earnings.
The second-quarter performance nevertheless indicates that the sector can expand without necessarily matching each additional unit of revenue with an equivalent increase in operating expenditure.
Nominal Growth Leaves Inflation Effect Unresolved
The broader corporate figures also require caution when assessing real economic activity. A rise in business turnover can result from increased sales volumes, higher prices or changes in the composition of products and sectors. Strong nominal revenue growth therefore does not necessarily correspond to equivalent growth in physical output. At the same time, revenue increasing faster than operating costs can improve companies’ operating position even when inflation accounts for part of the expansion.
The distinction is relevant for investment, employment and tax receipts. Volume-driven growth would provide a stronger indication of expanding demand, while predominantly price-driven growth would offer a weaker signal. The second-quarter figures nevertheless show that operating expenses increased more slowly than revenue across the non-financial economy. A fuller assessment would require comparison with industrial production, service turnover, export volumes, inflation and corporate profit data to determine the scale and durability of the expansion.
