USPS Narrows Losses in Q3 Despite Looming Cash Crisis

The U.S. Postal Service reported a 19% year-over-year decrease in its net losses for the third quarter of 2026, despite what Postmaster General David Steiner described as a "severe liquidity crisis" for the agency.

According to The Hill, USPS reported $19.9 billion in operating revenue in Q3, up 6.1% from 2025, helped in large part by $416 million in savings from its temporary suspension of employer contributions to pension programs in April. USPS also raised stamp prices by 4 cents in July, and announced its first ever fuel surcharge on packages in March, in response to rising transportation costs brought on by the war in Iran.

“Our financial losses this quarter reflect systemic challenges inherent in our Congressionally established business model and regulatory framework,” said Steiner in an August 7 statement.

A former Waste Management CEO who served on FedEx's board, Steiner was appointed to head up USPS in May 2025, following a controversial five-year tenure from his predecessor, Louis DeJoy. Under DeJoy, USPS made sweeping cuts to processing centers and service networks, drawing widespread criticism from industry stakeholders, who accused the agency in a July 2025 Congressional hearing of "demonstrably failing to meet the needs of the American people." Speaking to the Associated Press in March 2026, Steiner warned that he expects USPS to run out of cash by early 2027.

However, the agency's financial troubles can be traced back even further, stemming from a law passed by Congressional Republicans in 2006 that required USPS to fully fund worker retirement health care benefits for the next 75 years. Of the $62.4 billion in losses reported by USPS between 2007 and 2016, those prefunded benefits accounted for 87.4% of the total, according to a report from the agency's Office of Inspector General.