Summer slowdown becomes apparent
Following a strong June, the latest commercial register figures show a significant decline in new company formation activity in July 2026.
A total of 4'838 new registrations were recorded. This represents a decrease of around 9% compared with the previous month and 3% fewer registrations than in the same month of the previous year.
The development must also be viewed in the context of the summer holidays, when activity relating to company formations and commercial register changes traditionally tends to slow down.
Chart of new business start-ups in Switzerland: Comparison of recent months
Regional distribution: Zurich remains clearly ahead
At cantonal level, Zurich remains firmly in first place with 882 new company formations. It is followed by the cantons of Vaud with 513 companies and Bern with 406 new registrations.
The distribution confirms the continuing high level of company formation activity in Switzerland’s major economic centres.
Sectors: Construction, trade and consulting dominate
The sector breakdown once again shows clear areas of concentration.
A particularly high number of new companies were registered in construction and real estate, with 835 registrations, followed by trade with 550 and management consulting with 466 new company formations.
These sectors therefore remain among the most important drivers of new company formation activity in Switzerland.
Company deletions decline significantly
In July 2026, 3’245 companies were deleted from the Swiss Commercial Register. Compared with June, this represents a decrease of around 21%.
Compared with the same month of the previous year, however, the number of deletions was around 3% higher.
Commercial register amendments slightly lower
Commercial register amendments also declined slightly compared with June.
A total of 20'657 amendments were registered in July 2026. This represents around 2% fewer than in the previous month and is almost unchanged compared with the previous year.
Commercial register amendments include changes to a company’s purpose, relocations of its registered office, changes in share capital and changes within the board of directors or executive management.
2’698 entries related to liquidations
A total of 2’698 entries related to liquidations were registered in July 2026.
Of these, 246 cases concerned companies newly placed into liquidation due to organisational deficiencies in accordance with Art. 731b of the Swiss Code of Obligations.
A downward trend compared with previous months can be observed in this area.
Company formations increase in Liechtenstein
In the Principality of Liechtenstein, the number of new company formations developed positively in July, in contrast to the trend in Switzerland.
A total of 78 new companies were entered in the commercial register. This represents an increase of around 7% compared with June 2026.
In addition, 99 companies were deleted and 784 amendments were registered.
The latest commercial register figures for Liechtenstein are available on Firmenbuch.li. The analysis is based on register data published up to 30 July 2026.
1'712 new trademarks in the Swiss Trademark Register in July 2026
In addition to the commercial register data, trademark registrations also remained at a high level of activity.
In July, 1'712 new trademark registrations were published by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, or IPI.
A large proportion of the companies or trademark owners are based in Switzerland. Among foreign countries of origin, the United States ranks first with 105 trademarks, followed by China with 79, Germany with 69, France with 23 and the United Kingdom with 22.
The latest trademark statistics are available on Firmenstatistik.ch. The analysis is based on trademark data published by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property up to 30 July 2026.