US Postal Service Registers Quarterly Net Loss of $3.1 Billion

The agency has incurred $8.5 billion in losses in the first three quarters of this fiscal year.

Mail boxes at the front of a United States Postal Service facility in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 13, 2020. Scott Olson/Getty Images

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) incurred a net loss of $3.1 billion for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025—from April 1 to June 30—the agency said in an Aug. 7 statement.

While the $3.1 billion loss was down by 6 percent from the second quarter, it was up by 24 percent from the same quarter in fiscal year 2024.

USPS attributed the loss to factors such as unfavorable adjustments related to workers’ compensation, higher compensation and benefits expense, and an increase in other operating expenses.

“While the Postal Service continues to face financial challenges, we are an organization pursuing continuous improvements and innovation,” said USPS Chief Financial Officer Luke Grossmann.

“We remain focused on moving toward financial sustainability through operational efficiency, product strategies that will generate growth, and pricing adjustments.”

Third-quarter revenues stood at $18.79 billion, up slightly from $18.76 billion last year.

The marginal revenue growth came despite mail volumes handled by the USPS falling by 2.8 percent.

Both revenue and volume for First-Class Mail declined. For marketing mail, volumes rose, but revenue fell.

USPS registered net losses in the first three quarters of the year, totaling $8.5 billion. In the entirety of fiscal year 2024, the agency suffered $9.5 billion in losses, up from a $6.5 billion loss during the previous fiscal year.

“Our top priorities are improving performance and addressing and fixing the larger trends driving our financial losses,” said Postmaster General David Steiner, who took up the position on July 15.

“I believe strongly that the Postal Service is capable of operating as Congress intended, as an independent entity of the executive branch, that can compete effectively and operate efficiently in the performance of our public service mission and fully fund our operations.”

According to USPS, it delivered mail to 154 million residential addresses and 12.6 million business delivery points in 2024. The total mail volume processed by the agency last year was 112.5 billion.

The large losses at USPS come amid suggestions that the agency be privatized.

After assuming office, President Donald Trump suggested such a measure, saying it was “not the worst idea” he had heard. “We’re looking at it,” he said at the time.

On Feb. 21, the White House said the president had no intention of taking control of USPS, which exists as an independent agency.

A Feb. 27 note by Wells Fargo analyzed the potential privatization of USPS, saying that while this could be a tricky issue, it was possible.

“A possible path forward would be to split the mail and parcel businesses, with the intent of maintaining mail operations as a government enterprise preserving rural community access and the universal service obligation,” the report said.

Wells Fargo suggested that $85 billion in real estate value could be unlocked from USPS, which owns roughly 8,500 facilities across the country.

The path to privatizing USPS will require legislation, it added.

“Any real change at USPS would need to start with legislation, effectively repealing the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970. Bipartisan consensus seems unlikely, but there could be a path through reconciliation if included with the administration’s larger budget agenda,” the report said.

On Jan. 28, Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-Mass.) introduced H. Res. 70 in the House of Representatives, a bill calling on Congress to take “all appropriate measures” necessary to ensure that USPS is kept as an establishment independent of the federal government, and not subject to privatization.

The bill has so far garnered 221 co-sponsors—205 Democrats and 16 Republicans.

In a July 17 statement, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) praised the bill for hitting a bipartisan majority in the House.

“Reaching a House majority sends a clear message that any privatization proposal would be dead on arrival in Congress,” said NALC President Brian L. Renfroe.

“This majority threshold should remind the administration, private shippers, and members of Congress who have not yet signed on that Americans have no appetite for privatization. They trust the Postal Service and their letter carriers. They want the agency to succeed. That starts with ensuring USPS remains an independent, non-taxpayer-funded, nonpartisan agency.”

USPS has 533,000 employees and 106,000 non-career workers who do not get the same benefits as other employees and work part time.