Coupang swings to loss despite revenue growth

May 06, 2026, 08:59 am

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The Jamsil headquarters of Coupang. /Coupang

Coupang posted an operating loss of about 354.5 billion won in the first quarter, marking its largest quarterly deficit in more than four years since its 2021 listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The company also saw its revenue growth slow to single digits for the first time.

According to a regulatory filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 5, Coupang reported revenue of $8.504 billion for the first quarter, up 8% from $7.908 billion a year earlier. Based on the average exchange rate for the quarter, this translates to approximately 12.46 trillion won.

However, the company recorded an operating loss of $242 million, reversing from an operating profit of $154 million in the same period last year. Net loss also came in at $266 million, compared with a net profit a year earlier.

By segment, Coupang’s core Product Commerce business — which includes Rocket Delivery, Rocket Fresh and Rocket Growth — generated $7.2 billion in revenue, up 4% year-on-year. The number of active customers rose 2% to 23.9 million from a year earlier, but declined by about 700,000 from the previous quarter. The drop is believed to reflect lingering effects from a personal data breach incident reported in November last year.

Revenue from Developing Offerings, which include operations in Taiwan as well as services such as Coupang Eats, Coupang Play and Farfetch, increased 28% year-on-year to $1.328 billion. However, adjusted EBITDA losses in this segment widened sharply by 96% to $329 million.

Cash flow also weakened. Operating cash flow over the past 12 months stood at $1.6 billion, down $425 million from the previous year. Free cash flow fell by $724 million to $301 million over the same period.

Meanwhile, Coupang repurchased 20.4 million shares worth $391 million during the quarter and announced an additional $1 billion share buyback program.

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