Brazil’s federal state-owned companies posted a primary deficit of R$5.9 billion from January through April 2026, roughly USD 1.1 billion at recent rates, according to figures released by Brazil’s Central Bank on May 29 and reported by Poder360.
The result was the worst for the first four months of any year since the Central Bank’s historical series began in 2002. The figure covers federal state companies and excludes interest costs, using the primary balance measure that Brazil tracks closely in its public accounts.
A Wider Shortfall
The deficit more than doubled from the same period of 2025, when federal state firms recorded a negative balance of R$2.73 billion, roughly USD 515 million. Poder360 said the year-on-year increase was 117.2%.
The deterioration had already appeared in the first quarter. By the end of March, federal state companies had accumulated a R$4.4 billion deficit, roughly USD 830 million, also the largest ever recorded for the first three months of a year. In April alone, they posted a R$1.8 billion shortfall, roughly USD 340 million.
The article is based on single-source reporting from Poder360, which cited the Central Bank’s fiscal statistics document released on May 29. The source did not identify which federal companies contributed most to the deficit or provide a breakdown by firm.
Public Accounts Context
Brazil’s fiscal debate often focuses on the “primary result,” the balance of government revenue and spending before interest payments on public debt. A primary surplus helps contain borrowing needs; a primary deficit adds pressure to the public sector’s financing requirement.
The state-company result weighed on the broader performance of Brazil’s public accounts in April. Even so, the consolidated public sector — which includes the federal government, states, municipalities and state-owned enterprises — ended the month with a primary surplus of R$24.6 billion, roughly USD 4.6 billion.
That broader surplus means the state-company deficit did not prevent the public sector as a whole from recording a positive monthly primary result. But the record shortfall among federal state firms adds another point of pressure to Brazil’s fiscal picture, especially because the January-April figure is already larger than the comparable deficit in 2025 by more than double.
Poder360 reported that the Central Bank’s series for this comparison begins in 2002. On that basis, the 2026 result marks the weakest first four months for federal state-owned companies in the available data.