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SEOUL, May 6 (Yonhap) -- U.S.-listed e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. said Wednesday it swung to a net loss in the first quarter amid fallout from a massive customer data breach in South Korea.
The company posted a net deficit of $266 million in the January-March period, compared with a net profit of $114 million a year earlier, Coupang said in a press release.
Coupang also turned to an operating loss of $242 million in the first quarter from a net profit of $154 million a year ago, while sales rose 8 percent on-year to $8.5 billion.
Coupang Korea, which generates more than 90 percent of the group's total revenue, has faced strong public backlash following the disclosure of a data breach in November 2025 involving some 33.6 million customers.
This composite file photo shows Coupang's headquarters in Seoul (L) and Coupang founder and Chairman Bom Kim. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
It marked the company's largest net and operating losses since the fourth quarter of 2021.
Coupang had steadily narrowed its operating losses beginning in 2022 and returned to operating profit in the third quarter of that year.
Sales in the product commerce segment, its core online shopping business, rose 4 percent on-year to $7.2 billion in the first quarter.
Revenue from the developing offerings segment -- which includes its Taiwan business and food delivery service Coupang Eats -- jumped 28 percent to $1.3 billion over the period.
Coupang said it repurchased $391 million worth of shares in the first quarter, adding that its board recently approved an additional $1 billion stock buyback program.
In a conference call, Bom Kim, founder and chairman of Coupang, said first-quarter earnings were affected by one-time vouchers issued in response to the data breach, as well as "temporary inefficiencies" caused by weaker-than-expected demand following the incident.
"The bulk of the impact (of customer vouchers) is contained to the first quarter, with a modest tail into the first part of the second quarter," Kim said. "As demand returns to a predictable curve, we expect our capacity and supply chain to come back into balance and the inefficiencies to work their way out."
Kim said Coupang had recovered nearly 80 percent of the decline in its paid WOW membership base in the first four months of this year following the data breach incident, though he noted that year-over-year growth would take time to fully recover.
"Through the end of April, we've closed nearly 80 percent of the decline in WOW membership that followed the incident, through a combination of those returning members and strong new sign-ups," Kim said.
The number of customers who made at least one purchase through Coupang's core retail business rose 2 percent on-year to 23.9 million, though the figure was down from 24.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Kim projected a positive long-term profitability outlook, saying the margins at Coupang "remain intact and continue to improve" through operational efficiencies, supply chain optimization, and investments in automation and technology.
"We expect the annual margin expansion to resume next year, and we have strong conviction in the underlying margin potential of the business over the long term."
Delivery bags are piled up at Coupang's logistics center in southern Seoul on April 29, 2026. (Yonhap)
In response to the South Korean antitrust watchdog's designation of Kim as the controlling figure of Coupang's de facto controlling entity and therefore subject to stricter regulatory oversight, the company said it will comply with all regulatory requirements.
"We are aware of the recent designation, and we continue to be committed as always to complying with all the regulatory requirements in all jurisdictions where we operate," Gaurav Anand, Coupang's chief financial officer, said during the conference call. "We will continue engaging constructively with all our regulators and work through all our obligations as needed."
Last week, the Fair Trade Commission designated Kim, a U.S. citizen who also serves as Coupang's chairman, as an individual who effectively controls a conglomerate.
In response, Coupang said it plans to seek administrative litigation to cancel the designation, arguing that the U.S.-listed company is already subject to rigorous oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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