Il capital market Italian struggles to hold back small and medium-sized businessesBetween 2023 and the first half of 2025, 62 SMEs landed on the stock exchange, while 86 left it, sending up in smoke over 44 billion euros of capitalizationThese numbers confirm that, for many companies, the stock market remains a door ajar: difficult to cross and even more difficult to keep open.
This is what emerges from the first Annual Report of the "SMEs and Capital Markets" Observatory, born from the collaboration between Consob and Cetif – Catholic Universitythat studio highlights how one of the main problems is the undervaluation of stocks: Italian SMEs are often valued less than European benchmarks, limiting their ability to raise capital, use the stock for mergers or acquisitions and, in many cases, pushing them towards delisted.
Italy's small businesses: an ecosystem struggling to grow
The Italian manufacturing sector is dominated by companies of small sizeThe Observatory's mapping of a representative sample of approximately 120 SMEs shows that 88% of unlisted companies have fewer than 50 employees. In these cases, deciding to list isn't just about adopting a financial strategy: it's about changing your mindset, internal organization, and growth prospects.
Geographically, the Lombardia hosts over a fifth of Italian SMEs, confirming its position as the productive heart of the country. On the sector front, manufacturing It remains dominant (33,6% among unlisted companies, 31,8% among listed companies). However, companies that actually manage to go public present different characteristics: larger size, greater presence in the technology and scientific sectors, and a natural propensity for innovation, competitiveness, and growth.
Delisting and Capital Flight: Why SMEs Are Abandoning the Stock Exchange
Il delisted It is a significant phenomenon: the 62 companies that entered between 2023 and mid-2025 have not compensated for the 86 exits, with a net loss of over 44 billion euros. The main reasons for this flight include the poor liquidity of trade, perceived ratings including insufficient , competition growing of the private equity, which often offers more flexible conditions and more attractive financial rewards.
The Report also highlights how innovation is strictly linked to the availability of capital: the private R&D spending by Italian SMEs remains lower than the European average, while the venture capital It is growing, but remains undersized compared to France and Germany. Innovative SMEs, despite achieving better performance, therefore encounter difficulties raising venture capital, which accentuates the tendency toward delisting and limits the use of the stock market as a growth lever.
It's not just a financial issue: many SMEs are hesitant to open up their capital and accept more stringent transparency rulesi. Interviews collected by scholars confirm that, while on the one hand the stock market accelerates growth, on the other it can frustrate entrepreneurs due to the undervaluation of stocks.
Positive signals and strategies to reverse the trend
Despite the difficulties, the Report identifies some factors that can restore interest in listed SMEs. Among these: return of positive flows in Individual Savings Plans (Pir), the start of the Indirect National Strategic Fund with over a billion expected from 2026, the reduction in interest rates and the expected improvement in profits during the year.
To make the market more attractive, experts suggest increasing institutional investor participation, stabilizing and strengthening instruments such as PIRs and ELTIFs, incentivizing company growth to improve attractiveness and liquidity, strengthening entry standards to enhance the market's reputation, and supporting entrepreneurs in the post-listing phase through training and mentoring.
The first results will be presented Thursday February 19 in Milan, at the Catholic University, during the event "SMEs, Competition and Capital Markets," with insights into the cases of Spain, Sweden, and the United States.
Comments
“The first Report of the Observatory confirms the strategic role of SMEs for the growth of the country and, at the same time, the structural difficulties that still limit their access to capital markets,” declared Luca Filippa, Director General of Consob. Filippa emphasized how the collaboration between Consob and the academic world has created "an open and inclusive observatory, capable of fostering qualified dialogue between institutions, market operators, businesses, and universities," noting that strengthening entry standards, expanding the investor base, and offering managerial support are "decisive conditions for transforming the potential of SMEs into value for the country."
The Federico Rajola, director of Cetif and full professor at the Catholic University, confirms the central role of SMEs: "SMEs remain a fundamental asset to our economy, but they need to make a qualitative leap." Rajola adds that the first part of the Observatory "snapshots the situation, highlighting the entrepreneurs' perspective," while the second phase will engage with European academics to understand how the issue has been addressed and, in some cases, overcome in other countries.
