A total of 348 out of the 2,206 Cuban state-owned enterprises reported losses between January and July 2026, which means that one in every five entities in the state business system is operating at a loss, according to the analysis by economist Elías Amor in his weekly program with journalist Tania Costa on CiberCuba.
The data arises in the context of the meeting that Prime Minister Manuel Marrero held on Saturday with presidents of business groups and governing boards, at the conclusion of a three-day training sponsored by the National Institute of State Business Assets. Marrero took the opportunity during the meeting to advocate for the socialist state enterprise as the «main subject of the national economy» and to defend the progress of the 176 Economic and Social Transformations.
Amor dismantles that narrative with concrete figures. "Last year there were 256 (state-owned companies in the red) and this year there are 348, which is almost 20%," the economist noted, emphasizing that in just one year, 92 additional companies were added to the group of loss-making ones.
The decline is not limited to the number of entities in the red. The overall profits of the state sector plummeted by 69% compared to the previous year, decreasing from 92.217 million pesos to 67.274 million pesos. "The activity of state enterprises is sinking. We already know that state enterprises aren't going to make money, but losing this much, come on," Amor stated.
The economist also presents a revealing paradox: if the country is paralyzed by a lack of fuel, how do the more than 1,600 remaining companies manage to stay profitable? His answer points to a structural distortion: "Many of them operate under a monopoly regime and are the only ones providing the service or selling the product in their respective areas."
This market rigidity is compounded by another internal obstacle. During the meeting with Marrero, business executives criticized the fact that they must wait for instructions from their superiors before making any decisions. Amor identifies this as a systemic brake. "If the one at the top doesn't give the order, the executive of the state company doesn't take action, and that represents a precious time for the company to function properly."
The Cuban Constitution of 2019 establishes the socialist state enterprise as "the foundation of the national economy," a principle that Marrero reiterated in his remarks. For Amor, the data turns this foundation into a dangerous fiction. "I believe that having such a fragile base gives the impression that they don't have full confidence in you."
The data from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) reinforces this assessment. Between January and May, nearly 400 state-owned enterprises reported losses, net sales fell by 29.2%, and pre-tax profits decreased by 31.5%. Havana topped the list geographically with 69 entities in the red.
In contrast, micro and small enterprises —the private sector— grew by 35% in 2025 and are the only category of economic entities that did not decline, according to data from the ONEI collected in the program.
Amor concludes that Marrero's meeting with state-owned companies did not rise to the occasion. "Marrero came and went without leaving much of an impression at this meeting, delivering a series of economic-political marketing messages that fell flat," although he acknowledges that the Prime Minister is thus consolidating his profile as a reference for the reformist sectors within the regime.
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