This paper aims to respond to this research question: "How effective have government incentives been in preserving firm profitability and growth during the COVID-19 crisis?". We used a large, representative sample of Italian companies, which has produced a deeper study than the macro analyses provided by national statistics. Results shows that government policies alleviated the negative effects of the pandemic on troubled companies, but it was not enough to maintain the same financial health as firms that did not need this support. Small companies were the most adversely affected by the pandemic.
