Resilient Despite Data Breach... Coupang Korea Surpasses 2 Trillion Won in Annual Operating Profit for the First Time

2.2883 Trillion Won in Consolidated Operating Profit, Up 41% Year-on-Year
Record Revenue of 45.5 Trillion Won
Balanced Growth of Subsidiaries; First Interim Dividend Paid to Parent Company
"Intended for Global Business Investments"

Despite a major personal data breach last year, Coupang achieved record-breaking results by posting over 2 trillion won in operating profit in Korea. The company’s core businesses, led by Rocket Delivery, along with steady growth in its logistics, delivery, and food delivery subsidiaries, contributed to improved profitability.

Coupang Headquarters in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on April 13, Coupang Corp.—the Korean entity—and its subsidiaries reported consolidated operating profit of 2.2883 trillion won last year, a 40.9% increase from 1.6245 trillion won the previous year, surpassing the 2 trillion won mark for the first time. Revenue reached 45.4555 trillion won, up 18.7% from 38.2988 trillion won in 2024, breaking through the 40 trillion won level.

Coupang Corp. in Korea had recorded an operating loss of 1.1209 trillion won in 2021 as it continued to invest in infrastructure to expand “Coupang zones” (areas eligible for Rocket Delivery) and improve its delivery services nationwide. However, the company turned profitable the following year, recording an operating profit of 99.8 billion won, and in 2023, achieved its first-ever operating profit in the 1 trillion won range at 1.0649 trillion won. Overcoming fines imposed on subsidiaries and member attrition following the personal data breach, Coupang’s core business rooted in rapid delivery continued steady growth, opening the era of 2 trillion won in operating profit within just two years.

Achieving 2 trillion won in annual operating profit is unusual in Korea’s retail industry. For example, CJ CheilJedang, the largest food company by sales, recorded 1.2336 trillion won in operating profit last year, including its subsidiary CJ Logistics, which is over 1 trillion won less than Coupang. Coupang’s annual revenue is also comparable to the combined revenue of major offline retail giants—Emart (28.9704 trillion won), Shinsegae Group (6.9295 trillion won), and Lotte Shopping (13.7384 trillion won)—which together totaled 49.6383 trillion won. The annual operating profit of these conglomerates is in the 300 to 500 billion won range, far behind Coupang.

A Coupang logistics center in downtown Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The balanced growth of domestic subsidiaries also supported the upward trend of Coupang Corp. The logistics subsidiary, Coupang Fulfillment Services, reported revenue of 5.5463 trillion won and operating profit of 203.9 billion won last year, up 26.8% and 155.2% respectively from the previous year. Coupang Logistics Services (CLS), the delivery subsidiary, also increased revenue by 23.1% to 4.7214 trillion won and operating profit by 135.9% to 130 billion won. Coupang Eats Services, which operates the food delivery platform, saw revenue rise 54.1% to 2.9006 trillion won, with operating profit up 277.5% to 81.8 billion won. Meanwhile, Coupang Pay, which handles payments, posted revenue of 1.417 trillion won (up 26%) and operating profit of 85.3 billion won (up 52.1%).

Previously, Coupang Inc., the parent company listed on the U.S. Nasdaq, announced in February that its revenue for last year was 49.1197 trillion won (34.534 billion dollars) and operating profit was 679 billion won (473 million dollars). Coupang Corp.’s operating profit in Korea significantly exceeded this figure. The results for Coupang Inc. include Coupang Corp. in Korea, product commerce, and growth businesses such as operations in Taiwan.

Last year, Coupang Corp. in Korea also paid an interim dividend of 1.4659 trillion won for the first time ever to its parent company, which holds 100% of the shares. The dividend was set at 5.02 million won per common share. Coupang explained, however, that this was not a cash dividend and was for global business investment purposes. The funds did not come from operating profit earned in Korea; rather, part of the capital surplus from a previous paid-in capital increase by Coupang Inc. (which had attracted foreign investors) was used. Last year, Coupang used its capital surplus of 6.2159 trillion won to offset accumulated losses of 3.465 trillion won and converted the remaining 2.7509 trillion won into retained earnings.

Meanwhile, Coupang’s payment volume and number of users, which had declined following the personal data breach, are showing signs of recovery. According to the real-time payment analysis service WiseApp Retail, Coupang’s estimated payment amount last month was 5.7136 trillion won, a 12% increase from 5.1113 trillion won the previous month. After three consecutive months of decline following the data breach disclosure in November last year, the trend rebounded. The Coupang application’s monthly active users (MAU) also recovered to 33.45 million, up 1% from 33.12 million in February.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.