April through June of 2026 marked the second consecutive quarter in which Romanian company registrations fell short of business exits, extending a net-negative streak that now runs seven months. On the surface, the numbers look like a steady decline: registrations slipped from 14,438 in March to 12,639 in April, 12,427 in May, and 11,277 in June. But the central question — whether Q2 represents a genuine deceleration or a stabilisation at a lower plateau — is answered not by looking at what came before, but by placing the quarter against the multi-year record. The evidence points firmly toward stabilisation, with June’s figure tracking close to its historical seasonal norm.

A Quarter in Numbers

Q2 2026 produced 36,343 new company registrations across all entity types. That compares with 36,125 in Q2 2025 — a difference of just 218 registrations, or 0.6%. April was the strongest performer, rising 10.1% year-on-year with 12,639 registrations, powered largely by a surge in PFA formations. May and June, however, both slipped below their 2025 equivalents: May’s 12,427 was down 3.5% year-on-year, and June’s 11,277 was down 4.2%.

The quarter-to-quarter comparison with Q1 2026 is starker. The first three months of 2026 saw 38,652 registrations — a figure buoyed by March’s 14,438, the strongest month of the year so far. The drop from Q1 to Q2 is roughly 6%, but that needs to be read through a seasonal lens.

The Seasonal Context

June’s 11,277 registrations fell 6.9% below the historical June mean of 12,119, but it was far from an outlier. May came close to its historical average of 13,024 with 12,427, while April’s 12,639 exceeded its historical mean of 11,681 by 8.2%. This is critical context: April ranks only 9th out of 12 months in the historical seasonal calendar. That April exceeded its modest seasonal norm while June — one of the stronger months historically at rank 5 — fell slightly short suggests the quarter was not crashing but rather settling into a pattern consistent with the middle of the year.

The 12-month moving average, which smooths out monthly volatility, stood at 13,248 as of June 2026, down just 41 registrations from the previous month’s 13,288. That 0.3% decline is negligible and tells us the longer-term trend is essentially flat.

The Real Story: Structural Recomposition, Not Contraction

Beneath the headline totals, the Q2 data reinforces a transformation that has been underway for over a year: the steady migration from limited-liability SRLs toward sole-trader structures.

SRL registrations fell every month of Q2 relative to 2025: down 4.9% in April, 14.5% in May, and 18.8% in June. Across the quarter, SRLs totalled 20,263 — a notable drop from Q2 2025’s 23,247, a decline of about 12.8%.

PFA registrations told the opposite story: up 36.6% in April, 14.7% in May, and 23.4% in June. The Q2 PFA total of 14,281 compares with 11,482 in Q2 2025 — a 24.4% increase. By June, PFAs accounted for 40.2% of all new registrations, up from 31.2% in June 2025.

Individual enterprises (II) also grew: up 38.7% in April, 13.4% in May, and 18.5% in June.

This is not a picture of an economy that has stopped generating new businesses. It is a picture of entrepreneurs choosing different legal structures — lighter, more flexible, but also riskier for the individual founder. The total number of new business entities in Q2 is virtually unchanged year-on-year; what has changed is the composition.

The Exit Side: Some Relief, but Still Negative

Business exits outpaced registrations in every month of Q2, but the trajectory is improving. The net growth figure — registrations minus total business exits — ran at -3,018 in April, -2,051 in May, and -1,748 in June. Each month was better than the last.

That June net figure of -1,748 is significantly narrower than December 2025’s -4,292, the worst month of the current streak. In Q2 2025, the monthly net growth figures were -2,441 in April, -1,958 in May, and -836 in June, for a quarterly cumulative net loss of 5,235. This year’s Q2 cumulative net loss of 6,817 is wider, but the month-on-month trajectory within the quarter is nearly identical: improving sharply from April to June.

The churn rate — exits as a percentage of new registrations — tells a similar story. April’s churn rate of 123.9% was the quarter’s worst, but it dropped to 116.5% in May and 115.5% in June. June 2025’s churn rate was 107.1%, meaning exits outpaced registrations by a narrower margin last June. But the directional pattern differs: Q2 2025’s churn was deteriorating across the quarter, while Q2 2026’s is improving.

The improving trend within Q2 is driven primarily by a steep decline in deregistrations — the largest component of business exits. Deregistrations fell from 9,827 in April to 8,468 in May and 7,145 in June. That is a 27.3% drop across the quarter. Suspensions, by contrast, edged slightly upward from 1,362 in April to 1,486 in June, and dissolutions held stable around 4,400–4,600 each month.

Where the New Businesses Are Going

Transport & storage remained the top sector for new registrations in Q2, with 1,933 in April, 1,755 in May, and 2,061 in June. But the sector — heavily weighted toward individual transport operators on PFA structures — showed year-on-year weakness: down 6.8% in April and 11.9% in June.

Wholesale and retail trade, typically the second-largest sector in recent months, also declined year-on-year across the quarter: down 8.7% in April and 13.3% in June.

Growing sectors tell a more interesting story. Information & communications added 1,136 registrations in April (up 29.1% YoY) and 926 in June (up 15.3% YoY). Professional, scientific & technical activities grew 13.6% in April and 7.2% in June. Construction held steady with positive year-on-year growth in both April (up 11.4%) and June (up 4.0%). Agriculture, forestry & fishing — a small but notable sector — surged 134.2% in April and 43.0% in June, possibly reflecting EU subsidy cycles or land consolidation trends.

Financial intermediation & insurance was the quarter’s standout growth story: up 60.6% in April and 60.7% in June, though from a modest base.

Regional Divergence

Bucharest remained the dominant registration hub with 2,907 new companies in April and 2,667 in June. Ilfov, the surrounding county, showed strong momentum with 844 registrations in June, up 24.1% year-on-year. Constanța registered 636 in April — up 64.3% year-on-year — before easing to 454 in June. Iași grew 12.3% in June compared to last year, and smaller counties like Neamț (+28.3%), Călărași (+24.2%), and Buzău (+19.6%) showed outsized growth, suggesting that entrepreneurial activity is spreading beyond the major urban centres.

Ecosystem Health: Stabilising at the Lower Bound

The health ratio — registrations divided by total exits — stood at 0.87 in June 2026, meaning for every 100 businesses that exited, only 87 were created. That is below June 2025’s ratio of 0.93. However, the health ratio trend (month-over-month change) was positive at +0.01, and net growth improved by 303 month-over-month. These are small movements, but they are in the right direction.

The current net-negative streak, which began in December 2025, has now run seven months with a cumulative net loss of 15,085 businesses. This is a substantial figure, but the data window for reliable exit tracking begins only in July 2024 — comparisons with earlier periods are not possible, so this cannot be called a record.

Conclusion: Stabilisation, Not Deceleration

Q2 2026 did not accelerate from Q1’s strong March peak, but that was never a realistic expectation. March is historically the strongest month of the year for company registrations, and no quarter should be judged against it. The real test is whether the quarterly total holds up against the same period in prior years.

By that measure, Q2 2026 is essentially identical to Q2 2025 in total registrations — 36,343 vs 36,125. The composition has shifted markedly toward PFA structures, and the net growth picture remains negative but is improving month-over-month within the quarter. The 12-month moving average is flat. The churn rate is declining. Deregistrations are falling sharply.

This is not a slowdown quarter. It is a plateau quarter — one in which the Romanian business formation machine is running at the same speed it was a year ago, with entrepreneurs making different structural choices about how to formalise their activity. The question going forward is whether the improving trajectory of exits — particularly the falling deregistrations — can bring net growth back to positive territory. The data as it stands shows a system in rebalancing, not in retreat.