Nordic IT sector: Getting better, but not quite at 20 yet
Oversigt
- In Finland, revenue growth improved towards the end of the year, surpassing other Nordic countries, while organic revenue growth in the rest of the Nordics slowed.
- Profitability across the Nordic IT sector improved, led by Sweden, but declining revenue remains a challenge for maintaining profitability.
- The Rule of 20 indicates a challenging market situation throughout 2025, with only a few companies like Netcompany and Trifork achieving excellent performance.
- Median profitability for Nordic IT service companies increased to 7.4%, with Swedish companies driving significant improvements, despite ongoing challenges in managing billing rates and profitability.
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Translation: Original published in Finnish on 4/2/2026 at 4:09 pm EEST.
In Finland, revenue growth picked up towards the end of the year, surpassing that of the other Nordic countries for the first time in a long while. In the other Nordic countries, organic revenue growth slowed over the course of the year. Profitability improved across the Nordic countries, led by Sweden, and was already at a relatively good level overall. However, the decline in revenue continues to present challenges for many companies in terms of maintaining profitability. As measured by our Rule of 20, the situation in the IT services market remained challenging, though it improved towards the end of the year. Thus, by several metrics, the situation improved at the Nordic level at the end of the year. We previously published a Q4 summary of the Finnish listed IT services sector, which also showed a more positive trend in Finland.
Rule 20 = Organic growth-% + EBITA-%
Source: Inderes
Rule of 20 reflects a slightly improved situation across the Nordic countries at the end of the year
The difficult market situation throughout 2025 is illustrated by the fact that only a couple of listed IT service sector companies in the Nordics achieved excellent performance, as measured by the Rule of 20. The best performer in the sector was the consistently strong Netcompany (21%) with an excellent performance in our range that looks beyond cycles. Only Trifork achieved good performance (16%). Bouvet, as well as the Finnish companies Tieto and Digia, delivered satisfactory performances. The performance of other companies in the sector was weak or very weak, as measured by the Rule of 20.
Looking at Q4, the situation improved slightly compared to the year as a whole, but we believe this is partly due to Q4's seasonal nature. The top performer in Q4 was the same as for the whole of 2025 and achieved an outstanding performance. Digia and Addnode delivered good performances. However, the performance of most companies was still weak or very weak, reflecting the scale of the challenges in the sector.
A couple of years ago, we launched our own "Rule of 20" for the IT services sector. In our opinion, it is the best parameter for measuring companies' operational performance, especially over the cycle. The current market situation is more challenging than in the previous 10 years, and achieving an excellent level in the Rule of 20 is more difficult, whereas in the past, more companies achieved excellent performance.
Source: Inderes
For the first time in a while, Finland's performance was stronger than that of other Nordic countries
We have included 12 Nordic listed IT service companies in this review that operate in the same service areas as the Finnish companies we monitor. The organic median growth of the other Nordic companies slowed toward the end of the year and stood at −4% in Q4. This is the lowest level we have recorded in our 2+ years of monitoring. On the other hand, the median development of Finnish IT services companies improved at the end of the year, turning into a small 1% increase in Q4. At the same time, Finnish companies outperformed those in other Nordic countries.
Nordic listed IT service sector, organic revenue development (median)
Source: Inderes
Due to the small sample size, it is difficult to draw more profound conclusions in geographical terms. However, we believe it is fair to say that Danish companies (4 companies) performed best on average (median growth 1.2%) in Q4'25. In Finland, revenue growth turned slightly positive at 1%, as previously noted. Swedish and Norwegian companies experienced the weakest growth (−5% and −6%)
There was considerable variation in revenue growth among the companies. Trifork and Netcompany, both Danish companies, performed best. The worst performers were Netum and Vincit in Finland and B3 Consulting in Sweden.
Source: Inderes
Profitability improved and was relatively good
Overall, the median profitability of Nordic IT service companies was 7.4%, an improvement from 6.5% in the comparison period. Although the median profitability of Finnish companies declined slightly to 3.9%, the average improved. The profitability of other Nordic companies increased significantly, reaching a median of 8.7% (Q4'24: 6.9%). This improvement in profitability in other Nordic countries was driven by Swedish IT service companies. Although there are still differences in profitability among the Nordic countries, these differences have narrowed. When comparing profitability, it is important to take into account the limited number of companies and their different business profiles, which we do not examine in more detail in this review. Some companies have more product and recurring business, which supports profitability.
Declining revenue and intense competition continue to make it challenging for some companies to manage billing rates and profitability. Thus, we have seen new efficiency measures in the early part of the year, which should support profitability. However, it would be important to curb the revenue decline to make profitability management easier.
Source: Inderes
| Q4'25 | Growth, % | Organic growth, % | EBIT % adj. | Rule of 20 |
| Q4'25 | Q4'25 | Q4'25 | Q4'24 | |
| Digia | 11% | 2% | 13% | 15% |
| Digital Workforce | 21% | 2% | 9% | 11% |
| Gofore | 20% | 0% | 14% | 14% |
| Netum | -22% | -22% | 3% | -19% |
| Siili | -7% | -9% | 4% | -5% |
| Solteq | -3% | 1% | 4% | 5% |
| Vincit | -18% | -18% | 1% | -17% |
| Witted | 6% | 2% | 2% | 5% |
| Avensia | -8% | -8% | 0% | -8% |
| Addnode | 5% | -4% | 19% | 15% |
| Bouvet | -3% | -3% | 11% | 8% |
| B3 Consulting | -6% | -14% | 6% | -8% |
| CAG | -2% | -2% | 10% | 8% |
| Columbus | -8% | -8% | 6% | -2% |
| CombinedX | 6% | -5% | 10% | 6% |
| Exsitec | 6% | 2% | 18% | 20% |
| Knowit | -9% | -10% | 8% | -2% |
| Netcompany | 35% | 10% | 14% | 24% |
| NNIT | -8% | -7% | 4% | -3% |
| Proact Group | -5% | -5% | 7% | 2% |
| Trifork | 5% | 9% | 13% | 22% |
| Webstep | -9% | -9% | 3% | -6% |
| Finnish average | 1% | -5% | 6% | 1% |
| Finnish median | 2% | 1% | 4% | 4% |
| Other Nordic countries average | 0% | -4% | 9% | 5% |
| Other Nordic countries median | -4% | -5% | 9% | 4% |
| Whole Nordic region average | 0% | -4% | 8% | 4% |
| Whole Nordic region median | -3% | -4% | 7% | 3% |
| Source: Companies and Inderes |
| 2025 actual | Growth, % | Organic growth, % | EBIT % adj. | Rule of 20 |
| Digia | 6% | 1% | 11% | 11% |
| Digital Workforce | 5% | 1% | 3% | 4% |
| Gofore | 3% | -4% | 9% | 5% |
| Netum | -14% | -14% | 6% | -9% |
| Siili | -5% | -3% | 4% | 0% |
| Solteq | -8% | -4% | 2% | -3% |
| Tieto | -1% | -2% | 14% | 12% |
| Vincit | -18% | -18% | 0% | -19% |
| Witted | -2% | -3% | 2% | -1% |
| Avensia | 0% | 0% | 8% | 8% |
| Addnode | -25% | -30% | 16% | -14% |
| Bouvet | 0% | 0% | 12% | 12% |
| B3 Consulting | 7% | -13% | 4% | -8% |
| CAG | -3% | -3% | 9% | 6% |
| Columbus | -5% | -5% | 4% | -1% |
| CombinedX | 2% | -5% | 10% | 5% |
| Exsitec | 10% | 2% | 18% | 20% |
| Knowit | -10% | -10% | 6% | -4% |
| Netcompany | 21% | 8% | 13% | 21% |
| NNIT | -3% | -3% | 6% | 3% |
| Proact Group | -4% | -4% | 7% | 3% |
| Trifork | 7% | 7% | 9% | 16% |
| Webstep | -5% | -5% | 8% | 3% |
| Finnish average | -4% | -5% | 5% | 0% |
| Finnish median | -2% | -3% | 4% | 0% |
| Other Nordic countries average | -1% | -4% | 9% | 4% |
| Other Nordic countries median | -1% | -3% | 8% | 3% |
| Whole Nordic region average | -2% | -5% | 8% | 3% |
| Whole Nordic region median | -2% | -3% | 8% | 3% |
| Source: Companies and Inderes |
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