Brazil’s federal nonfinancial state-owned companies posted a record deficit of R$5.93 billion, roughly USD 1.1 billion at recent rates, from January through April 2026, according to single-source reporting from Gazeta do Povo based on Central Bank data released on May 29.
The result was the worst for the period since the Central Bank’s data series began in 2002. It also exceeded the R$5.1 billion deficit recorded by those companies during all of 2025.
What the Figures Cover
The Central Bank’s calculation includes federal nonfinancial state-owned companies such as Correios, Brazil’s postal service; Infraero, the state airport infrastructure company; Serpro, the federal data-processing firm; Dataprev, the social-security technology company; and Casa da Moeda, Brazil’s mint.
It does not include Petrobras, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company; Eletrobras, the power company privatized in 2022; or public banks. Gazeta do Povo reported that the Central Bank measures the result using a methodology based on changes in the companies’ debt.
The numbers add pressure to Brazil’s federal fiscal accounts at a time when the government already expects negative results from state-owned companies through 2030. In the draft 2027 Budget Guidelines Law, known in Brazil as the LDO, the executive branch also acknowledged that Correios may need new federal support to manage its financial difficulties.
Correios Drives Concern
Correios is the main focus of concern. The postal company closed 2025 with a loss of R$8.5 billion, roughly USD 1.6 billion at recent rates, more than three times the R$2.6 billion loss reported in 2024.
The company has accumulated 14 consecutive quarters of losses since the end of 2022, according to the report. To shore up its cash position, Correios secured a R$12 billion loan, roughly USD 2.3 billion, backed by a guarantee from Brazil’s National Treasury at the end of last year.
That support may not be enough. Emmanoel Rondon, the president of Correios, said the company could need another R$8 billion in 2026 through new loans or direct federal transfers, Gazeta do Povo reported.
Fiscal Debate Returns
The latest deficit revives a long-running Brazilian debate over the role of state-owned companies in the federal budget. In principle, public companies can operate outside the core budget while still affecting debt dynamics, especially when they need Treasury guarantees, loans or capital injections.
For foreign readers, the issue matters because Brazil’s fiscal credibility depends not only on headline spending approved by Congress but also on contingent liabilities: obligations that may become public costs if state companies cannot finance themselves.
The Central Bank figures do not by themselves show which company produced each part of the January-April deficit. But the timing of the record result, combined with the deterioration at Correios, has intensified scrutiny of federal company management and the possible future cost to taxpayers.