Visual Essay

A Look at the U.S. International Investment Position

Third Quarter 2025

By Tiffany Dang and Erin Whitaker  |  January 29, 2026

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) recently released statistics on the U.S. international investment position (IIP) for the third quarter of 2025. The U.S. IIP is a statistical balance sheet that presents the dollar value of U.S. external financial assets and liabilities. The U.S. net IIP is the difference between U.S. residents' foreign financial assets and liabilities. A negative net investment position represents a U.S. net liability to the rest of the world.

The following charts present highlights of the U.S. IIP statistics for the third quarter. More detail can be found on the U.S. international investment position product page on BEA's website.

Chart 1. U.S. International Investment Position.

[Click chart to expand]

  • The U.S. net IIP decreased from −$26.16 trillion at end of the second quarter of 2025 to −$27.61 trillion at the end of the third quarter. The $1.46 trillion decrease in the net IIP reflected an increase in liabilities that exceeded an increase in assets.
  • U.S. assets increased by $1.71 trillion to a total of $41.27 trillion at the end of the third quarter, driven by foreign stock price increases that raised the market value of portfolio investment and direct investment assets.
  • U.S. liabilities increased by $3.17 trillion to a total of $68.89 trillion at the end of the third quarter, driven by U.S. stock price increases that raised the market value of portfolio investment and direct investment liabilities.
Chart 2. U.S. Assets by Category.

[Click chart to expand]

  • Portfolio investment assets increased by $950.9 billion to $18.56 trillion, and direct investment assets increased by $704.3 billion to $13.23 trillion.
  • Financial derivatives, in contrast, decreased $296.3 billion to $1.86 trillion.
Chart 3. Changes in Assets Excluding Financial Derivatives

[Click chart to expand]

  • Price changes (mostly reflecting foreign stock price increases) raised the value of U.S. assets by $1.63 trillion.
  • Financial transactions (mostly reflecting increases in currency and deposits and loans, components of other investment, as well as an increase in direct investment equity assets) raised the value of U.S. assets by $427.7 billion.
Chart 4. U.S. Liabilities by Category.

[Click chart to expand]

  • Portfolio investment liabilities increased by $1.98 trillion to $37.26 trillion, and direct investment liabilities increased by $1.31 trillion to $19.90 trillion.
  • Financial derivatives, in contrast, decreased $309.0 billion to $1.85 trillion.
Chart 5. Changes in Liabilities Excluding Financial Derivatives

[Click chart to expand]

  • Price changes (mostly reflecting U.S. stock price increases) raised the value of U.S. liabilities by $2.69 trillion.
  • Financial transactions (mostly reflecting foreign purchases of U.S. stocks and long-term debt securities) raised U.S. liabilities by $798.8 billion.