KfW Analysis: One in three medium-sized companies is postponing investments
Only 40 percent of medium-sized companies have implemented investment projects in 2025. At the same time, many companies are postponing their projects planned for this year. What is holding back the businesses?
Small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany are struggling with investments. According to an analysis by KfW, only 40 percent of 3.9 million medium-sized companies implemented investment projects in 2025. A survey in September found that a third of companies, or 33 percent, had postponed or scaled back planned investments for 2026, citing high energy prices, material costs, and bureaucracy as major obstacles.
In 2025, small and medium-sized enterprises invested around 218 billion euros in new facilities and buildings, which is three billion euros less than the previous year.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
