Coupang Reports Q4 Loss After Data Breach, Revenue Misses Estimates

Coupang reported a fourth-quarter loss and revenue below market expectations, as the South Korean e-commerce giant continues to grapple with the fallout from a massive data breach. The company posted $8.8 billion in revenue for the October to December period, slightly under the $8.9 billion forecast from LSEG SmartEstimate. Coupang swung to a net loss of $26 million, compared with a profit a year earlier. Despite the earnings miss, Coupang’s New York-listed shares closed 1.9% higher.

Coupang Korea, which accounts for more than 90% of total revenue, has faced intense public scrutiny since revealing in November that a data breach affected approximately 34 million customers. The compromised information included names, phone numbers, and shipping addresses, though payment details and login credentials were not exposed. The company stated it is strengthening safeguards and taking necessary steps to prevent similar incidents.

Chief Financial Officer Gaurav Anand said active customers in the product commerce segment rose 8% year over year to 24.6 million in the fourth quarter. However, that figure slipped slightly from 24.7 million in the previous quarter, a decline attributed to the data breach impact. Anand noted signs of stabilization, with reactivations increasing and customer growth trends improving. Constant-currency growth in product commerce likely bottomed out at around 4% in January before recovering in February. For the first quarter, Coupang expects consolidated constant-currency revenue growth between 5% and 10%.

The company acknowledged that growth and profitability may remain under pressure in the coming months as the effects of the breach linger. While Coupang maintains there is no evidence of secondary harm or misuse of data, South Korea’s Science Ministry attributed the incident to management failures rather than a sophisticated cyberattack.

Adding to the challenges, South Korea’s antitrust regulator fined Coupang 2.2 billion won ($1.53 million) for unfair supplier practices, separate from the data breach issue. Meanwhile, proposed regulatory changes and increased competition in ultra-fast delivery services could further test Coupang’s market leadership in South Korea’s competitive e-commerce sector.