Correios, Brazil's state-owned postal service, lost R$ 5.55 billion (about US$ 1.1 billion) in the first half of 2026, according to financial statements released on Saturday, August 29. The news portal g1 rounds the figure to R$ 5.6 billion. It is the company's 16th consecutive quarter in the red, and the loss widened 30.4% from the R$ 4.26 billion recorded in the same period of 2025, according to the newspaper O Globo.
In the second quarter alone the loss was R$ 2.39 billion, an improvement of 24.4% from the R$ 3.16 billion of the first quarter, which g1 reports was a record. Net revenue rose 3.8% between the two quarters, from R$ 3.86 billion to R$ 4.01 billion. The company said the recovery is not enough yet. "The accumulated result for the semester remains challenging and reinforces the need for continuity and consistent execution of the restructuring measures," it said in a statement.
Where the money comes from and where it goes
Net revenue totaled R$ 7.87 billion in the half, R$ 320 million less than a year earlier, while expenses rose R$ 972 million, according to g1. The imbalance comes mostly from international parcels: R$ 355 million in the period, against R$ 815 million a year before. The segment, which once accounted for 22.2% of revenue, now represents 4.3%. The slide follows the Remessa Conforme program, which since 2023 has levied a 20% import tax on purchases of up to US$ 50, a charge Brazilians nicknamed the "taxa das blusinhas", or little-blouses tax. Even after the tax ended, volumes did not return, because the program remained in force, g1 reported. Logistics services sold to retailers moved in the opposite direction, jumping from R$ 205 million to R$ 423 million.
On the expense side, payroll, flagged as one of the company's biggest problems, fell R$ 20 million year on year to R$ 5.2 billion, 15% below forecast, and related costs such as health plans and pensions dropped R$ 260 million. Financial expenses, however, climbed 161% to R$ 1.7 billion, driven by interest and fines that include a R$ 12 billion loan signed at the end of 2025 and expected to generate R$ 22.4 billion in interest over its life.
New credit and public money
In the notes to the statements, Correios says it is structuring a new R$ 7 billion credit operation, with the federal government, the União, as guarantor in case of default.
"A new credit operation of approximately R$ 7 billion is at an advanced stage of structuring. The operation has been discussed with potential participating financial institutions, and its main economic, financial and contractual elements are at an advanced stage of alignment," the company said.
The company is also negotiating R$ 2.9 billion with the New Development Bank, the Brics lender, and ended June with R$ 4.9 billion in cash, O Globo reported. The statements also confirm the federal government's commitment to inject R$ 6 billion in capital by the end of 2027, an amount expected in the 2027 budget bill.
The results came out two days after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ruled out privatizing the company in an interview on TV Globo. "The Correios crisis is that it did not adapt to new times," Lula said on Thursday, August 27. "It is a company that is very important for Brazil, because it is present in every municipality." The restructuring underway includes voluntary redundancy programs, which have already led 6,500 employees to leave, and the closure of 1,000 service points, including branches and mail processing units. A new redundancy program opened by the company has drawn low uptake, according to g1.
For sellers, the plan shrinks the network of collection and delivery points used by online retailers and small producers to ship goods. For consumers and taxpayers, the bill reaches the Treasury: the federal government guarantees the R$ 7 billion loan, takes on the default risk and has committed R$ 6 billion in capital through 2027, money that now competes with other federal budget priorities.