GEO Group Posts Record $254 Million Profit as Private Prison Industry Banks on ICE Expansion

The GEO Group reported a record $254 million in profit for 2025 — a roughly 700 percent increase over the previous year — driven by a surge in contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that has transformed the private prison industry from a sector facing bank divestment into one of the most profitable corners of federal contracting.

The Numbers Behind the Windfall

GEO Group secured approximately $520 million in new or expanded contracts in 2025, measured by annualized revenue. The company expects 2026 to be even more profitable, projecting roughly $3 billion in total revenue. A single contract to reopen Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey — a facility with capacity for about 1,000 detainees — was valued at $1 billion.

CoreCivic, the other major private prison operator, reported $116.5 million in 2025 profits, a nearly 70 percent increase from 2024. The company's revenue from ICE alone more than doubled in the fourth quarter of 2025, rising from $120.3 million to $244.7 million compared to the same period a year earlier. CoreCivic projects 2026 net revenue of $147.5 million to $157.5 million.

The number of immigrants detained by CoreCivic increased by nearly 60 percent through the end of 2025, surpassing 16,000. The company informed ICE that it can provide nearly 13,000 additional beds beyond its current capacity.

Federal Funding Fuels the Expansion

The private prison boom has been underwritten by massive increases in federal spending. The administration's budget included approximately $45 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, ICE's parent agency, with significant allocations for expanding immigrant detention capacity. GEO Group secured contracts for four new ICE detention facilities totaling about 6,000 beds. CoreCivic received contracts for four facilities with over 7,000 beds, including the reopening of the 2,400-bed South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.

By the end of November 2025, ICE was operating 104 more facilities than at the start of the year — a 91 percent increase. The administration has signaled its intention to exceed 100,000 detention beds, up from roughly 40,000 at the start of 2025.

Lobbying and the Banking Battle

As profits soared, both companies invested heavily in Washington influence. Private prison contractors have spent millions on lobbying, according to an Intercept investigation published in February 2026. A central focus of that lobbying has been legislation that would compel banks to provide loans to private prison companies — a response to the ESG-driven divestment movement that saw several major financial institutions distance themselves from the industry in recent years.

The lobbying campaign has yielded results. Despite years of public pressure from activists and shareholders, the combination of federal contracts and favorable regulatory signals has made private prison stocks attractive again. However, a February 2026 Bloomberg report noted that the administration's exploration of alternative detention sites — including converted warehouses and military installations — could eventually introduce competition that cuts into the private operators' market share.

Conditions and Accountability

The financial boom has coincided with persistent concerns about conditions. Both GEO Group and CoreCivic face ongoing lawsuits from rights organizations alleging poor conditions, inadequate medical care, and failure to prevent deaths in their facilities. Courts have ruled that the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act applies to private immigration jails, after lawsuits alleged that CoreCivic forced detained immigrants to perform labor in its facilities.

The American Immigration Council's March 2026 report described the private detention system as "increasingly unaccountable," noting that oversight mechanisms have not kept pace with the rapid expansion of facilities and contracts. ICE's own inspection regime has been criticized for relying on industry-affiliated auditors and for failing to enforce consequences when facilities fall short of detention standards.

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