"Although January is usually the month with the highest number of company formations, the drop in company creation was across all sectors of activity, with the exception of Energy and Environment (+88%; +7 formations)," indicates Informa D&B in a statement.

On the other hand, the Services sector has the highest number of new companies, continuing the trend of the last five years, concentrating more than a third of the formations in January.

The largest drops were found in the Retail (-27%; -133 formations), Accommodation and Food (-24%; -125 formations) and Transport (-28%; -122 formations) sectors.

Informa D&B also says that 596 companies closed in Portugal in January, with the Industrial sector standing out (85 closures), namely the textile and fashion industries (44 closures).

Insolvencies fell by 4% compared to the same period last year, with 190 companies registering new insolvency proceedings in January 2026.