State‑owned enterprises (SOEs) play an important role in the Romanian economy – in terms of their overall volume, but even more so because of their role in systemically important sectors such as energy and transportation. The total SOE sector is valued at approximately USD 19 billion and employs around 183 000 people. Compared with other post-transition economies, Romania has a relatively large portfolio of listed SOEs, which have played a significant role in developing the stock market. Eighteen majority-owned SOEs are traded on the stock exchange, the largest and most valuable of which are concentrated in the energy sectors (i.e. hydrocarbons and electricity). Overall, however, there is high heterogeneity in the performance of SOEs. While the state’s portfolio has showed positive returns on equity and assets in recent years (albeit significantly less than private firms), this is entirely attributable to the five most profitable SOEs without which the aggregate operating result would be sharply negative. Further, while the median SOE is slightly larger than the median non-SOE in terms of asset size, SOEs underperform significantly compared to non-SOEs both in terms of sales and profitability.