Business Indicators, Australia

Latest release

Quarterly estimates of private sector sales, wages, profits and inventories

Reference period

December 2025

Released

2/03/2026

Release date and time

02/03/2026 11:30am AEDT

Key statistics

Seasonally adjusted, current price estimates for:

Company gross operating profits rose 5.8%
Wages and salaries rose 0.9%

Seasonally adjusted, chain volume estimates for:

Inventories fell 0.1%
Sales of goods and services rose in 11 industries, fell in 3 industries and 1 remained unchanged.

From December quarter 2025, the appearance of the Business Indicators, Australia publication page has changed. Please note that these changes have no impact on the data available in this publication.

For more information or if there are any queries about these changes, please enquire via our Contact Us page.

Key economic indicators - seasonally adjusted
		Sep 25 to Dec 25 (%)	Dec 24 to Dec 25 (%)
Company gross operating profits		5.8	3.8
Wages and salaries		0.9	5.6
Inventories (chain volume measures)		-0.1	0.0
Sales of goods and services (chain volume measures)
	Mining	1.2	2.3
	Manufacturing	0.8	3.5
	Wholesale Trade	0.6	2.3
	Retail Trade	0.3	1.6

Quarterly analysis

Business Indicators data in original, trend and seasonally adjusted terms can be found in the Data Downloads section.

Unless otherwise stated, all figures in this section are in seasonally adjusted terms.

Company gross operating profits, current prices

Company gross operating profits (CGOP) rose 5.8%, driven by Mining (+8.1%).
Transport, Postal & Warehousing (+8.9%) and Wholesale Trade (+6.5%) added to the rise.

CGOP, seasonally adjusted
	Quarterly (%)	Year on Year (%)
Dec 2019	-0.6	3.9
Mar 2020	2.4	2.7
Jun 2020	11.4	12.5
Sep 2020	4.7	18.6
Dec 2020	-3.4	15.4
Mar 2021	-0.9	11.7
Jun 2021	4.7	5.0
Sep 2021	5.7	6.0
Dec 2021	3.8	13.8
Mar 2022	8.4	24.5
Jun 2022	8.3	28.7
Sep 2022	-9.2	10.6
Dec 2022	7.9	15.1
Mar 2023	1.2	7.4
Jun 2023	-9.9	-10.6
Sep 2023	0.7	-0.9
Dec 2023	2.2	-6.1
Mar 2024	-1.4	-8.5
Jun 2024	-4.7	-3.2
Sep 2024	-3.4	-7.2
Dec 2024	3.0	-6.5
Mar 2025	0.0	-5.2
Jun 2025	-3.4	-3.9
Sep 2025	1.5	1.0
Dec 2025	5.8	3.8

CGOP, seasonally adjusted

["","Quarterly","Year on Year"]

[["Dec 2019","Mar 2020","Jun 2020","Sep 2020","Dec 2020","Mar 2021","Jun 2021","Sep 2021","Dec 2021","Mar 2022","Jun 2022","Sep 2022","Dec 2022","Mar 2023","Jun 2023","Sep 2023","Dec 2023","Mar 2024","Jun 2024","Sep 2024","Dec 2024","Mar 2025","Jun 2025","Sep 2025","Dec 2025"],[[-0.6],[2.4],[11.4],[4.7],[-3.4],[-0.9],[4.7],[5.7],[3.8],[8.4],[8.3],[-9.2],[7.9],[1.2],[-9.9],[0.7],[2.2],[-1.4],[-4.7],[-3.4],[3],[0],[-3.4],[1.5],[5.8]],[[3.9],[2.7],[12.5],[18.6],[15.4],[11.7],[5],[6],[13.8],[24.5],[28.7],[10.6],[15.1],[7.4],[-10.6],[-0.9],[-6.1],[-8.5],[-3.2],[-7.2],[-6.5],[-5.2],[-3.9],[1],[3.8]]]

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CGOP by industry, seasonally adjusted
	Quarterly change (%)
Mining	8.1
Manufacturing	2.5
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services	0.3
Construction	4.2
Wholesale Trade	6.5
Retail Trade	0.0
Accommodation and Food Services	6.1
Transport, Postal and Warehousing	8.9
Information Media and Telecommunications	3.2
Financial and Insurance Services	4.0
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services	3.2
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services	8.8
Administrative and Support Services	0.0
Arts and Recreation Services	-3.5
Other Services	10.4

CGOP by industry, seasonally adjusted

["","Quarterly change (%)"]

[["Mining","Manufacturing","Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services","Construction","Wholesale Trade","Retail Trade","Accommodation and Food Services","Transport, Postal and Warehousing","Information Media and Telecommunications","Financial and Insurance Services","Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services","Professional, Scientific and Technical Services","Administrative and Support Services","Arts and Recreation Services","Other Services"],[[8.1],[2.5],[0.3],[4.2],[6.5],[0],[6.1],[8.9],[3.2],[4],[3.2],[8.8],[0],[-3.5],[10.4]]]

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Wages and salaries, current prices

Wages and salaries rose 0.9%.
11 industries rose, led by Health Care & Social Assistance (+1.9%), Construction (+1.4%) and Wholesale Trade (+1.6%).
6 industries fell, led by Information Media and Telecommunications (-1.5%).

Wages by industry, seasonally adjusted
	Quarterly change (%)
Mining	1.6
Manufacturing	-0.2
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services	-0.1
Construction	1.4
Wholesale Trade	1.6
Retail Trade	0.7
Accommodation and Food Services	1.8
Transport, Postal and Warehousing	1.7
Information Media and Telecommunications	-1.5
Financial and Insurance Services	-0.2
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services	-0.3
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services	0.7
Administrative and Support Services	0.3
Education and Training	2.3
Health Care and Social Assistance	1.9
Arts and Recreation Services	-0.7
Other Services	2.6

Wages by industry, seasonally adjusted

["","Quarterly change (%)"]

[["Mining","Manufacturing","Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services","Construction","Wholesale Trade","Retail Trade","Accommodation and Food Services","Transport, Postal and Warehousing","Information Media and Telecommunications","Financial and Insurance Services","Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services","Professional, Scientific and Technical Services","Administrative and Support Services","Education and Training","Health Care and Social Assistance","Arts and Recreation Services","Other Services"],[[1.6],[-0.2],[-0.1],[1.4],[1.6],[0.7],[1.8],[1.7],[-1.5],[-0.2],[-0.3],[0.7],[0.3],[2.3],[1.9],[-0.7],[2.6]]]

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Inventories, chain volume measures

Inventories fell 0.1%, led by Manufacturing (-0.4%) and Retail Trade (-0.4%), partly offset by Mining (+0.7%).

Inventories, seasonally adjusted
	Quarterly (%)	Year on Year (%)
Dec 2019	0.1	-0.1
Mar 2020	-2.0	-2.9
Jun 2020	-2.1	-3.9
Sep 2020	-0.7	-4.6
Dec 2020	0.3	-4.5
Mar 2021	2.2	-0.3
Jun 2021	0.2	2.0
Sep 2021	-1.3	1.5
Dec 2021	1.4	2.7
Mar 2022	2.8	3.2
Jun 2022	0.5	3.4
Sep 2022	3.6	8.5
Dec 2022	0.2	7.2
Mar 2023	1.0	5.3
Jun 2023	-1.7	3.1
Sep 2023	1.7	1.1
Dec 2023	-1.0	0.0
Mar 2024	1.2	0.2
Jun 2024	0.5	2.4
Sep 2024	-0.3	0.4
Dec 2024	0.1	1.5
Mar 2025	0.9	1.2
Jun 2025	0.0	0.7
Sep 2025	-0.8	0.2
Dec 2025	-0.1	0.0

Inventories, seasonally adjusted

["","Quarterly","Year on Year"]

[["Dec 2019","Mar 2020","Jun 2020","Sep 2020","Dec 2020","Mar 2021","Jun 2021","Sep 2021","Dec 2021","Mar 2022","Jun 2022","Sep 2022","Dec 2022","Mar 2023","Jun 2023","Sep 2023","Dec 2023","Mar 2024","Jun 2024","Sep 2024","Dec 2024","Mar 2025","Jun 2025","Sep 2025","Dec 2025"],[[0.1],[-2],[-2.1],[-0.7],[0.3],[2.2],[0.2],[-1.3],[1.4],[2.8],[0.5],[3.6],[0.2],[1],[-1.7],[1.7],[-1],[1.2],[0.5],[-0.3],[0.1],[0.9],[0],[-0.8],[-0.1]],[[-0.1],[-2.9],[-3.9],[-4.6],[-4.5],[-0.3],[2],[1.5],[2.7],[3.2],[3.4],[8.5],[7.2],[5.3],[3.1],[1.1],[0],[0.2],[2.4],[0.4],[1.5],[1.2],[0.7],[0.2],[0]]]

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Inventories by industry, seasonally adjusted
	Quarterly change (%)
Mining	0.7
Manufacturing	-0.4
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services	3.7
Wholesale Trade	-0.1
Retail Trade	-0.4
Accommodation and Food Services	-3.0

Inventories by industry, seasonally adjusted

["","Quarterly change (%)"]

[["Mining","Manufacturing","Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services","Wholesale Trade","Retail Trade","Accommodation and Food Services"],[[0.7],[-0.4],[3.7],[-0.1],[-0.4],[-3]]]

[]

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Sales of goods and services, chain volume measures

11 industries rose, led by Mining (+1.2%) and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (+2.0%).
3 industries fell, led by Financial and Insurance Services (-1.8%).
1 remained unchanged.

Sales by industry, seasonally adjusted
	Quarterly change (%)
Mining	1.2
Manufacturing	0.8
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services	0.6
Construction	0.3
Wholesale Trade	0.6
Retail Trade	0.3
Accommodation and Food Services	0.8
Transport, Postal and Warehousing	-0.1
Information Media and Telecommunications	1.2
Financial and Insurance Services	-1.8
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services	0.1
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services	2.0
Administrative and Support Services	0.6
Arts and Recreation Services	-1.4
Other Services	0.0

Sales by industry, seasonally adjusted

["","Quarterly change (%)"]

[["Mining","Manufacturing","Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services","Construction","Wholesale Trade","Retail Trade","Accommodation and Food Services","Transport, Postal and Warehousing","Information Media and Telecommunications","Financial and Insurance Services","Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services","Professional, Scientific and Technical Services","Administrative and Support Services","Arts and Recreation Services","Other Services"],[[1.2],[0.8],[0.6],[0.3],[0.6],[0.3],[0.8],[-0.1],[1.2],[-1.8],[0.1],[2],[0.6],[-1.4],[0]]]

[]

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Notes on release

Comparison between company gross operating profits and gross operating surplus

Valuation changes have had an impact on the value of inventories held by Australian businesses this quarter. An Inventories Valuation Adjustment (IVA) is applied in the calculation of the Gross Operating Surplus (GOS) of private non-financial corporations estimate in the Australian National Accounts. The IVA for the December quarter 2025 is $2,223m which is $1,335m higher than the September quarter 2025 IVA of $888m.

No adjustment is made to the Company Gross Operating Profits (CGOP) estimate in this publication and, as a result, users should exercise caution when comparing CGOP and GOS. It should be noted that there are other differences between the two series. In particular, changes are made to GOS when annual benchmarks are applied, and slightly different seasonal factors apply to the two series. Given this, while CGOP movements are an appropriate indicator for GOS, the two series will not have equivalent seasonally adjusted movements from quarter to quarter.

Reinstatement of trend estimates

The trend estimates attempt to measure underlying behaviour in business activity. Due to the disruption to regular patterns in business activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ABS suspended Business Indicators trend estimates from June quarter 2019 onwards.

In recent quarters, time series have reverted to more usual seasonal patterns, and it was assessed that the impacts of COVID-19 are no longer driving volatility in the data. The trend estimates were reinstated in the June quarter 2024 release.

Due to the degree of disruption caused by COVID-19, the ABS will not publish trend estimates for all series from March quarter 2020 to September quarter 2022 (inclusive), as estimates throughout the pandemic period are likely to be misleading for users.

Data downloads

Time series spreadsheets

Download all (1.79 MB)

Data files

Table 1. Inventories, chain volume measures
Download xlsx [72.74 KB]
Table 2. Inventories, chain volume measures, percentage change from previous quarter
Download xlsx [68.83 KB]
Table 3. Inventories, current prices
Download xlsx [72.72 KB]
Table 4. Income from sales of goods and services, chain volume measures
Download xlsx [90.98 KB]
Table 5. Income from sales of goods and services, chain volume measures, percentage change from previous quarter
Download xlsx [83.26 KB]
Table 6. Income from sales of goods and services, current prices
Download xlsx [92.24 KB]
Table 7. Income from sales of goods and services by state, current prices
Download xlsx [67.04 KB]
Table 8. Income from sales of goods and services by state, current prices, percentage change from previous quarter
Download xlsx [63.2 KB]
Table 9. Company profits before income tax, current prices
Download xlsx [112.12 KB]
Table 10. Company profits before income tax, current prices, percentage change from previous quarter
Download xlsx [102.64 KB]
Table 11. Company gross operating profits, current prices
Download xlsx [105.24 KB]
Table 12. Company gross operating profits, current prices, percentage change from previous quarter
Download xlsx [90.81 KB]
Table 13. Unincorporated gross operating profits, current prices
Download xlsx [116.52 KB]
Table 14. Unincorporated gross operating profits, current prices, percentage change from previous quarter
Download xlsx [83.47 KB]
Table 15. Business gross operating profits, current prices
Download xlsx [100.26 KB]
Table 16. Business gross operating profits, current prices, percentage change from previous quarter
Download xlsx [87.16 KB]
Table 17. Wages and salaries, current prices
Download xlsx [92.25 KB]
Table 18. Wages and salaries, current prices, percentage change from the previous quarter
Download xlsx [85.3 KB]
Table 19. Wages and salaries by state, current prices
Download xlsx [69.58 KB]
Table 20. Wages and salaries by state, current prices, percentage change from previous quarter
Download xlsx [65.56 KB]
Table 21. Sales/wages and salaries ratio, current prices, original
Download xlsx [56.18 KB]
Table 22. Business gross operating profits/sales ratio, current prices, original
Download xlsx [54.93 KB]
Table 23. Inventories/sales ratio, current prices, original
Download xlsx [50.57 KB]
Table 24. Quarterly consumer sales, current prices
Download xlsx [46.58 KB]
Table 25. Quarterly consumer sales, percentage change from previous quarter
Download xlsx [46.54 KB]

Related release

The December quarter 2025 Private New Capital Expenditure and Expected Expenditure, Australia provides a Spotlight article Data Centres in Economic Statistics. This article outlines where the impacts of data centres can be observed within the ABS suite of economic statistics.

Data Explorer datasets

Caution: Data in Data Explorer is currently released after the 11:30am release on the ABS website. Please check the reference period when using Data Explorer.

Business Indicators - Quarterly estimates of private sector sales, wages, profits and inventories

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 5676.0.

Methodology

Scope

The Business Indicators publication contains estimates of:

Income from sales of goods and services
Wages and salaries
Company profits
The book value of inventories for selected industries in Australia.

Geography

The data available includes estimates for:

Australia
State/Territory sales and wages.

Source

The Quarterly Business Indicators Survey takes its frame from employing and non-employing units on the ABS Business Register (ABSBR) which is based on Australian Business Number (ABN) registrations to the Australian Business Register (ABR).

Collection method

The Business Indicators' series have been compiled from data collected by the ABS in its Quarterly Business Indicators Survey. The survey is conducted by web form on a quarterly basis and collects data from private sector businesses.

Concepts, sources and methods

Not available

History of changes

Telstra's privatisation, effective from March quarter 2007
Sample redesign March quarter 2024
Experimental series of Consumer Sales included from March quarter 2025.

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APA

Business Indicators, Australia

APA

Key statistics

Quarterly analysis

Company gross operating profits, current prices

Wages and salaries, current prices

Inventories, chain volume measures

Sales of goods and services, chain volume measures

Notes on release

Comparison between company gross operating profits and gross operating surplus

Reinstatement of trend estimates

Data downloads

Time series spreadsheets

Table 1. Inventories, chain volume measures

Table 2. Inventories, chain volume measures, percentage change from previous quarter

Table 3. Inventories, current prices

Table 4. Income from sales of goods and services, chain volume measures

Table 5. Income from sales of goods and services, chain volume measures, percentage change from previous quarter

Table 6. Income from sales of goods and services, current prices

Table 7. Income from sales of goods and services by state, current prices

Table 8. Income from sales of goods and services by state, current prices, percentage change from previous quarter

Table 9. Company profits before income tax, current prices

Table 10. Company profits before income tax, current prices, percentage change from previous quarter

Table 11. Company gross operating profits, current prices

Table 12. Company gross operating profits, current prices, percentage change from previous quarter

Table 13. Unincorporated gross operating profits, current prices

Table 14. Unincorporated gross operating profits, current prices, percentage change from previous quarter

Table 15. Business gross operating profits, current prices

Table 16. Business gross operating profits, current prices, percentage change from previous quarter

Table 17. Wages and salaries, current prices

Table 18. Wages and salaries, current prices, percentage change from the previous quarter

Table 19. Wages and salaries by state, current prices

Table 20. Wages and salaries by state, current prices, percentage change from previous quarter

Table 21. Sales/wages and salaries ratio, current prices, original

Table 22. Business gross operating profits/sales ratio, current prices, original

Table 23. Inventories/sales ratio, current prices, original

Table 24. Quarterly consumer sales, current prices

Table 25. Quarterly consumer sales, percentage change from previous quarter