Sales of the TOP50 car dealers  in Slovakia rose 10% last year to €3.3bn, but their net profit fell 25% to €44m. The market leaders are Porsche (€643m in sales), Škoda Auto (€543m), and Mercedes‑Benz (€305m). Large companies in particular were unable to pass rising costs through to prices as they competed for customers with aggressive discounts amid pressure from new brands, especially from China and the U.S. ( trend.sk )

Czech defense conglomerate CSG  (Michal Strnad) is in talks to acquire Slovakia’s largest TV broadcaster, Markíza , from Czech group PPF  (Renáta Kellnerová), sources told IntelliNews. Strnad, the wealthiest Czech national, has close ties to Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák (Smer). Some media have accused PPF of pressuring news programs to soften criticism of the government to protect its other Slovak assets, including SkyToll and O2. Slovakia is a key production base for Strn

Retail chain Lidl plans to launch a virtual mobile operator. It has not yet announced the launch date for the Lidl Connect service, developed with 1Global. Tesco already operates a virtual operator using O2’s network. ( zive.sk )

Swiss-based ITS Water Group  with Ukrainian capital, through its Slovak subsidiary Aqua Chemicals, plans to invest €7m in a plant producing substances for drinking and wastewater treatment in Štúrovo. It plans to create 50 jobs. The project expands similar production in Ukraine, where 100 people are employed. Other Ukrainian capital investments in Slovakia include a new confectionery plant in Žilina with 200 employees, planned by Ukrainian producer Lukas owned by the Lukacký

Large companies pay higher wages ; the difference is €230 a month for office managers and €70 for marketing specialists, platy.sk data show. They also provide a broader range of benefits. A disadvantage can be greater anonymity or slower decision-making processes. Over the past year, 17% of people working in small firms changed employers, compared to only 9% in large ones. Interestingly, employees of large firms more frequently declare a willingness to leave for a better off

Twenty‑three corporate acquisitions took place in Slovakia in 2025, seven fewer than in 2024. Their total value surged 26% and topped €1bn, the highest level in recent years, a report by Forvis Mazars and Mergermarket showed. The largest deal was the acquisition of 365.bank by Belgium’s KBC group for €749m, with J&T as the seller. Other major deals included an investment in GymBeam and the takeover of Engie’s Slovak operations by France’s Veolia. Investor interest from Centr

Finhold  (Pavol Jakubec) posted a net profit of €237m last year. This resulted from Jakubec selling sweets maker I.D.C.  (brands like Horalka and Mila) to Ireland's Valeo. Jakubec took out a loan in 2021 to buy out his then-partner Štefan Kassay; they had owned the firm 50/50. The firm's results subsequently improved significantly. According to the financial statements, Finhold collected €305m for I.D.C., which had a book value of €77m. ( sme.sk )

An audit of five state hospitals  revealed they have too many doctors yet still pay them extensively for overtime. Their output is not increasing (the number of hospitalizations grew by 5% over five years), although their costs surged by 60%. Despite an adequate number of doctors, almost no surgeries are performed after 3 p.m., partly due to a shortage of nurses. Based on the audit, Minister Kamil Šaško drafted an action plan to streamline hospitals, which he intends to prese

Developer Penta RE sold 241 apartments in Slovakia last year, up 17% annually, while their value rose 30% to €55m. It plans to increase sales at a double-digit pace this year. It has 4,000 apartments in preparation across five Bratislava locations (Bory, Medze, Chalupkova, Southbank and Vajnorská). It also plans to launch a pilot cooperative housing project and rental housing for students. The Chalupkova Offices project is 50% pre-leased a year before opening. On the London

Poultry processor EU Poultry  (Dmytro Borodavka) increased its net profit 35% to €6.6m last year, while sales  rose 24% to €184.9m. Processing poultry imported from Ukraine still accounts for a major share of revenue, but the company also began selling eggs and frozen fish last year. Sales of frozen and chilled meals rose from 890 to 2,104 tons. Exports accounted for 72% of revenue, and headcount increased by 50 to 311. The company plans to build a new €50m plant in Bošany, i