Australia Q3 Corporate Profits Unexpectedly Flat

Corporate profits in Australia were unexpectedly flat quarter-on-quarter in Q3 2025, missing market forecasts of a 1.7% increase andfollowing an upwardly revised 2.6% contraction in Q2. Profit increases were observed in financial and insurance services (5.0% vs -7.2% in Q2), administrative and support services (4.2% vs -11.3%), mining (0.2% vs -0.9%), wholesale trade (0.8% vs -4.9%), electricity, gas, water, and waste services (4.7% vs -0.6%), rental and hiring services (2.5% vs -3.9%), arts and recreation services (5.8% vs -2.7%), and accommodation and food services (1.5% vs 3.5%). These gains were partly offset by declines in manufacturing (-2.2% vs -10.7%), retail trade (-1.0% vs -5.0%), and professional, scientific, and technical services (-5.4% vs 0.8%), while transport and warehousing remained flat (0.0% vs 1.2%).On an annual basis, profits rose 1.1% through the year to September, after an upwardly revised 3.9% drop in Q2, marking the first annual increase since Q1 2023.

Corporate profits in Australia unexpectedly fell by 2.4% quarter-on-quarter in Q2 2025, missing market forecasts of a 1.2% increase, following an upwardly revised 1.0% contraction in Q1. The decline was driven by profit falls in financial and insurance services (-7.5% vs -11.9% in Q1), administrative and support services (-11.4% vs -7.2%), mining (-0.5% vs -6.3%), wholesale trade (-4.6% vs 3.7%), transport and warehousing (-1.6% vs 4.2%), rental and hiring services (-3.6% vs 0.8%), electricity, gas, water and waste services (-1.3% vs -3.0%), manufacturing (-9.3% vs 9.5%), arts and recreation services (-3.1% vs 0.5%), and retail trade (-5.8% vs 5.0%). By contrast, profits rose more strongly in accommodation and food services (3.5% vs 0.7%) and rebounded in professional, scientific, and technical services (1.8% vs - 1.9%). On an annual basis, profits declined by 3.3% through the year to June, after an upwardly revised 5.2% drop in Q1, marking the smallest yearly decline in a year.

Corporate profits in Australia unexpectedly dropped by 0.5% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) in Q1 2025, missing market forecasts of 1.1% growth and reversing an upwardly revised 6.0% expansion in Q4 2024. The decline was driven by profit falls in financial and insurance services (-10.6% vs 38.3% in Q4), administrative and support services (-6.1% vs 8.5%), mining (-6.0% vs 5.3%), electricity, gas, water and waste services (-3.2% vs 4.6%), and professional, scientific, and technical services (-1.9% vs 1.5%). Additionally, corporate profit growth slowed for wholesale trade (4.4% vs 20.3%), accommodation and food services (0.7% vs 10.0%), transport and warehousing (4.8% vs 9.0%), rental and hiring services (1.2% vs 10.1%), and arts and recreation services (1.2% vs 12.8%). By contrast, profits rose more strongly in retail trade (5.4% vs 2.8%) and information media and telecommunications (5.0% vs 4.6%). Through the year to March, corporate profits shrank by 5.0%, following a 6.2% decline in Q4.