Record revenue isn't everything: Expert on why Croatian firms should look beyond their own numbers

Many business owners in Croatia might think a record year means they've reached their full potential, but that's not necessarily the case. Marko Emer, director of Elektronički računi, the company behind the mer BIZ app for comparing business performance, points out that companies need to look beyond their own numbers and consider the wider market.

Emer explains that a record year only shows how you performed compared to your own past, while market position depends on what's happening around you. If a company grows 10 percent but its competitors grow 20 percent, Emer says he wouldn't be satisfied just because the result is better than last year—he'd want to understand why they're falling behind.

Revenue alone can be misleading, as the example of two fictional companies in the mer BIZ app shows. Luma generated €6.5 million in revenue in 2025, while Nova generated €5.3 million. Yet Nova's profit was €651,000, nearly three times Luma's €229,000, and Nova's EBITDA margin was 19.5 percent compared with Luma's 5.6 percent. Emer notes that comparing multiple financial indicators gives a fuller picture.

External data can guide investment decisions. If a market segment or a competitor is growing faster, it's worth investigating whether the difference comes from product, productivity, business model or something else. But Emer warns against blindly following competitors: understanding why they succeed doesn't mean you should copy their product or model.

For Croatian entrepreneurs, the takeaway is to celebrate good results but keep questioning how much more could be achieved.