Business · Companies · 1 day ago
Spain’s Correos faces heavy losses despite the online shopping boom
Spain’s state-owned postal company, Correos, is struggling even as online shopping grows.
It handled 1.06 billion shipments in 2025, less than half its 2019 volume, and has lost more than €1.16 billion over five years.
Letters have declined, while parcels bring lower margins and put Correos in a price battle with large private delivery companies.
The company must also deliver mail across Spain five days a week, including to remote areas, at affordable prices.
The state pays Correos for this public service and has also provided other support, including capital and debt guarantees.
Correos reported a profit of €11.2 million in 2025, but the article says it would have recorded losses without public funding.
The account describes a company with falling staffing and rising debt, while its delivery workers report that absences go uncovered and some routes are inefficient.
Spain’s state-owned postal operator Correos has accumulated more than €1.16 billion in losses over five years despite a boom in online shopping.
In 2025, it handled 1.06 billion items, less than half the volume it carried in 2019.
The company’s parcel business faces price competition from private delivery firms and has not generated enough revenue to sustain its nationwide network.
Correos is required to deliver across the country five days a week, including on routes that lose money, and receives public funding for this service.
It reported a profit of €11.2 million in 2025, which the article says depended on public funds.
- Who
- Correos, Spain’s state-owned postal operator.
- What
- It has recorded more than €1.16 billion in losses over five years, despite the growth of online shopping.
- When
- The article was published on 10 October 2026 and reports figures through 2025.
- Where
- Spain.
- Why
- Falling mail volumes, costly delivery obligations and competition that squeezes parcel margins have weakened its finances.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
No direct quotes in the coverage so far.
Correos handled more than twice as many items as it did in 2025.
Correos handled 1.06 billion items and reported a profit of €11.2 million, which the article says was due to public funds.
The state paid Correos €334.5 million to compensate for its universal postal service.
El Mundo published its report on Correos’ finances and operations.
- Five-year losses
- More than €1.16 billion
- Items handled in 2025
- 1.06 billion
- Parcel revenue in 2025
- €837 million
- Universal postal service compensation in 2025
- €334.5 million
- Online commerce in Spain
- Nearly €115 billion in 2025, up 20.6% from the previous year
Sources
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