Statistical Bulletin no. 28/1 - Market - January 2026
 

Financial markets in 2025

In 2025, Italian financial markets recorded an overall strengthening in market activity and market capitalisation, amid differentiated developments across market segments and financial instruments. Within this context, the second half of the year played a significant role in shaping end-period outcomes, consolidating the expansion in trading activity and partially offsetting the contraction in the perimeter of companies under supervision observed in the first part of the year.

With regard to issuers listed on Italian regulated markets or admitted to trading on Italian multilateral trading facilities, for which Consob acts as the national competent authority pursuant to the MAR Regulation and the MiFIR Regulation, the number of such entities amounted to 426 at the end of December 2025, of which 411 were Italian and 15 were headquartered abroad. This figure represents a slight increase compared with the 423 companies recorded at the end of June 2025 but remains below the 434 companies observed at the end of 2024, confirming a year-on-year reduction in the overall perimeter and reflecting heterogeneous developments across the main markets.

During 2025, the decline in the number of companies listed on Euronext Milan continued, with 198 companies recorded at year-end, down from 202 at the end of June and 209 at the end of 2024, in the absence of new admissions. In the Euronext Growth Milan segment, by contrast, following the negative balance recorded in the first half of the year, the second half was characterised by a recovery in the number of companies admitted to trading, which increased from 204 at the end of June to 211 at the end of December, returning to levels close to those observed at the end of 2024. The contribution of the Vorvel MTF remained limited and broadly stable, with 17 supervised companies at the end of 2025, confirming its marginal role within the overall framework.

Developments in the market perimeter during 2025 point to an underlying trend towards a reduction in the number of supervised issuers compared with the end of 2024, consistent with patterns observed in previous years, although some partial offsetting effects emerged in the second half of the year, mainly attributable to the segment dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Against this backdrop, total market capitalisation of supervised issuers recorded a significant increase in 2025, rising from approximately €836 billion at the end of 2024 to about €1,077 billion at the end of 2025 (+28.8%). The increase was particularly pronounced for the 411 Italian issuers, whose market capitalisation grew by 40.6%, driven in particular by the financial sector. Consistent with this trend, the ratio of market capitalisation to gross domestic product increased over the year, rising from around 38% at the end of 2024 to levels close to 48% at the end of 2025.

In 2025, trading activity on secondary markets strengthened further. On an annual basis, equity trading value in supervised listed companies increased by around 30% compared with 2024, with a more pronounced rise for shares of Italian companies (approximately +33%). The intensification of trading activity, already evident in the first part of the year, was sustained in the second half, confirming high levels of activity in the domestic equity market.

In the bond market, the trading value of Italian government securities on national trading platforms increased significantly in 2025 compared with 2024, by around 39% on an annual basis. By contrast, trading in bonds issued by Italian entities other than the State showed more contained developments and remained broadly stable compared with the previous year.

Throughout 2025, trading in ETFs and in securitised derivative instruments (ETCs and ETNs) continued to expand, with the traded value increasing by more than 44% compared with 2024. By contrast, trading in mutual funds followed an opposite trend, recording a marked contraction in 2025, with a reduction in traded value exceeding 45% on a year-on-year basis.

With regard to derivatives markets, in 2025 trading in standardised equity derivatives recorded a moderate increase compared with 2024, amounting to approximately +12% on an annual basis. At the end of December 2025, the number of open positions stood at around 4.46 million, up by 7.6% compared with the end-2024 figure.

In line with developments observed in the derivatives segment, during 2025 the trading value of covered warrants and certificates increased significantly compared with 2024, by approximately +25% on an annual basis. Growth affected both types of instruments and continued in the second half of the year, supporting persistently high levels of activity in these products.

As regards net short positions, at the end of 2025 they accounted for approximately 1.3% of the total capitalisation of supervised listed companies, slightly higher than the 1.2% recorded at the end of 2024. For Italian companies only, and for the financial sector, the ratio declined slightly, standing at around 1.1% and 0.7% of capitalisation, respectively.

Finally, in 2025 an increase was observed in fails in the settlement of equity transactions in companies listed on regulated markets and cleared by Euronext Clearing. The annual average settlement fails rate stood at approximately 1.1%, up from 0.7% in 2024, with a peak recorded in the third quarter of the year.

The Report was prepared by:
Francesco Scalese - CONSOB, Statistics Office, Research Department (f.scalese@consob.it)
 

Thanks to Davide Danzilli, Sandro Leocata e Valentina Alfi for their collaboration.

Editorial secretary: Andrea Cianciullo

For information and clarifications write to: Ufficio.Statistiche@consob.it

ISSN 2281-3101 [online]