Aftermath of Personal Data Leak: Coupang Inc. Posts KRW 354.5 Billion First-Quarter Loss in 'Earnings Shock' (Comprehensive)

Largest Quarterly Loss in Over Four Years and Three Months
Revenue Growth Hits Record Low Despite Modest Increase
Impact of 'Talpang' and Compensation Coupons
Active Customer Base Down by 700,000 from Previous Quarter

Coupang Inc., the parent company of Coupang, posted its largest quarterly operating loss in over four years last year, following the major personal information leak incident that occurred in Korea.

According to Coupang Inc.'s consolidated financial report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 6 (Korea time), the company's revenue for the first quarter of this year was $8.504 billion, up 8% from $7.908 billion in the same period last year. When converted at the average KRW-USD exchange rate for Q1 (1,465.16 won), this amounts to approximately 12.4597 trillion won.

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

Coupang's quarterly revenue declined for the second consecutive quarter, following the previous quarter's (Q4 2025) figure of approximately 12.8103 trillion won. In addition, the first quarter revenue growth rate (8%) marked the lowest since Coupang’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021, and it was the first time the company failed to achieve a double-digit quarterly growth rate. The previous lowest quarterly revenue growth rate was 14% in Q4 2025.

The operating loss for the first quarter was $242 million (approximately 354.5 billion won), a reversal from an operating profit of $154 million (about 233.7 billion won) in the same period last year. The scale of this loss exceeds half of Coupang Inc.'s annual operating profit last year (about 679 billion won). Net loss for the quarter also turned negative, reaching $266 million (about 389.7 billion won), compared to a net profit of $114 million (about 165.6 billion won) in the same period last year. This is the first quarterly loss in seven quarters, since Q2 2024, and the largest quarterly loss in four years and three months, since Q4 2021. At that time, operating loss and net loss were $396.59 million (about 480 billion won) and $404.97 million (about 522 billion won), respectively.

Coupang Inc.'s cost of sales for the first quarter was $6.207 billion, with a cost-to-revenue ratio of 73%, slightly up from 70.7% in the same period last year. Selling, general, and administrative expenses (OG&A) also increased, bringing total operating expenses to $8.746 billion, which surpassed total revenue. Gross profit ($2.3 billion) decreased by 1% from the same period last year, and adjusted EBITDA fell sharply to $29 million, down from $382 million a year ago.

Product Commerce (Rocket Delivery, Rocket Fresh, Rocket Growth, Marketplace) revenue reached $7.176 billion (about 10.5139 trillion won), up 4% from $6.87 billion (about 9.9797 trillion won) in the same period last year (5% at constant currency), but lower than the 12% growth in Q4 2025. Adjusted EBITDA for Product Commerce ($358 million) also declined by 35% over the same period.

The number of active Product Commerce customers was 23.9 million, a 2% increase from the same period last year, but down by about 700,000 from 24.6 million in Q4 2025. Revenue per active Product Commerce customer was $300 (about 439,540 won), up 3% from $294 (about 427,080 won) a year earlier.

Revenue from growth businesses such as Rocket Delivery Taiwan, Farfetch, and Coupang Eats was $1.328 billion (about 1.9457 trillion won), up 28% from $1.038 billion (1.5078 trillion won) a year earlier (25% at constant currency). However, adjusted EBITDA loss for the growth businesses climbed 96% to $329 million (about 482 billion won), compared to $168 million (about 244 billion won) a year ago.

In addition, operating cash flow over the past 12 months was $1.6 billion, down $425 million from the previous year, and free cash flow ($301 million) also fell by $724 million during the same period.

Coupang Inc.'s first quarter results fell far short of Wall Street analyst estimates. Bloomberg had forecast Q1 revenue at $8.511 billion, operating loss at $39.27 million, and net loss at $100 million, but actual revenue was slightly lower, and operating loss was more than five times higher than expected. This underperformance is attributed to the continued fallout from the so-called 'Talpang' phenomenon—members leaving the platform in the wake of the personal information leak incident in Korea at the end of last year—and additional costs incurred as Coupang provided discount coupons as compensation.

Previously, in a December 2025 SEC filing, Coupang Inc. stated, "Beginning January 15, 2026, we will provide purchase vouchers worth approximately 1.685 trillion won (about $1.2 billion) to customers notified of the personal information leak incident," adding, "The purchase vouchers, which can be used for Coupang product purchases, will be deducted from the sales price and revenue of each relevant transaction."

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