In 2020, the productive system comprised 4.2 million enterprises in the non-agricultural and non-financial market sectors. One third of the total value added is generated by less than 300 companies. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, this productive system suffered a historic shock in activity: turnover fell by 8.7% in 2020. Apart from micro-enterprises, the decline in activity was more pronounced the larger the enterprises. In accommodation and food service activities and services for individuals, which were the sectors most affected by the restrictive measures, half of the enterprises recorded a fall in turnover of more than 10%. Nevertheless, within each sector, activity increased in 2020 in a significant proportion of enterprises, illustrating the very heterogeneous nature of the economic effects of this health crisis. Overall, salaried job fell less than activity and productivity fell to a limited extent in 2020; in large enterprises, the loss of productivity was more significant and erased the gains accumulated since 2016. Productivity differences between enterprises in the same sector increased, amplifying the divergence already at work before the crisis.

Despite the numerous support measures (solidarity funds, partial activity, etc.), enterprises could only partially adjust their production costs to the fall in activity: the margin rate therefore fell sharply in 2020 (-2.6 points) as did profitability indicators. The debt ratio rose sharply for a majority of enterprises, which made massive use of state-guaranteed loans (PGE). Nevertheless, a significant part of this additional debt was fed into enterprises' cash flow, protecting them in the short term from a lack of liquidity.

With the exception of mid-cap companies (ETIs), the investment rate of enterprises held up rather well in 2020. Although declining, investment spending often fell less than activity: the improvement in the financial situation of companies before the crisis, particularly small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), as well as the numerous support measures coupled with the maintenance of very low interest rates may have helped to sustain investment. Finally, the health crisis itself may have accelerated certain types of investment (digitisation, etc.), particularly in micro-enterprises (MICs) and SMEs (excluding MICs).