U.S. Postal Service reports $2.5 billion quarterly loss

The U.S. Postal Service said its third-quarter controllable loss widened to $1.6 billion and its net loss reached $3.1 billion, as first-class mail revenue fell $86 million on a volume decline of 568 million pieces. The quarter ran from April 1 through June 30, 2025, and the numbers showed how much strain still sits behind the nation’s mail network.

That strain matters well beyond postal accounting. USPS must deliver to every address in the United States, including rural routes that private carriers often avoid, so losses can quickly turn into pressure for higher postage, trimmed services or new appeals to Congress for more flexibility and support. Small businesses, rural communities, online retailers and government agencies all depend on that network, even though the costs of serving far-flung routes rarely fit a private-company model.

The agency’s public role also shows up in the mail people rely on most. Consumers still depend on USPS for medications, checks, ballots and essential correspondence, and any disruption in delivery standards can ripple into daily life. USPS continues to spend on infrastructure, sorting equipment and vehicle replacement, investments aimed at improving reliability over time but ones that add to near-term costs while letter volumes keep shrinking.

USPS had planned for a $6.9 billion net loss and a $1.1 billion controllable loss in fiscal 2025 in its Integrated Financial Plan, but the third-quarter results showed the controllable deficit already above that target at $1.6 billion. First-class mail revenue fell 1.4 percent in the quarter, and the 5.4 percent volume drop underscored how much of the postal system still depends on letters even as digital communication takes more of that traffic away.

By Nov. 14, USPS said fiscal 2025 operating revenue was $80.5 billion, while its annual report put the year’s net loss at about $9.5 billion and controllable loss at $2.7 billion. The Postal Regulatory Commission said in 2026 that USPS had not had a profitable year in the last decade, a sign that the long-running fight in Washington over whether the Postal Service should operate like a business or function more like a public utility is far from settled.