Coupang Inc posts W642.3b operating loss in Q3, cumulative deficit nears W2tr

Coupang Inc, the US-listed parent of Coupang, swung to an operating loss of more than 600 billion won in the third quarter of this year, reversing from a profit a year earlier. Sales grew, but the company recorded its second-largest quarterly loss on record.

Coupang Inc, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, reported an operating loss of $450 million (642.3 billion won) in its third-quarter consolidated earnings report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The won figure is based on the average won-dollar exchange rate for the quarter of 1,427.52 won per dollar. The result marks a reversal from an operating profit of $162 million in the same period last year.

The company had already posted operating losses of 354.5 billion won in the first quarter and 835 billion won in the second quarter, following a large-scale personal data breach last year. The first-quarter loss reflected the company's own compensation plan for affected customers, while the second-quarter loss was driven by a fine imposed by the Personal Information Protection Commission.

Although smaller than the second-quarter loss, the third-quarter operating loss was the second-largest on a quarterly basis in the company's history — roughly equal to its full-year operating profit of 679 billion won last year.

The cumulative operating loss for the first three quarters of this year stands at 1.83 trillion won, approaching the combined operating profit of 1.9 trillion won Coupang Inc earned over the three profitable years from 2023 to 2025. It also exceeds the 1.71 trillion won annual operating loss the company recorded in 2021, its worst full-year result since its founding.

Third-quarter sales reached $9.96 billion, up 7 percent from $9.27 billion in the same period last year.

The net loss for the quarter came to $501 million, reversing from a net profit of $95 million a year earlier. Net losses for the first and second quarters stood at 389.7 billion won and 856 billion won, respectively, bringing the cumulative net loss for the first three quarters to around 1.96 trillion won.

Both the operating loss and net loss include $248 million in costs related to the Incheon warehouse fire that occurred in July.

Sales from growth businesses — including Rocket Delivery in Taiwan, Farfetch and Coupang Eats — rose 23 percent year-on-year to $1.59 billion, or 27 percent in won terms.

Active customers in the product commerce segment totaled about 25.2 million, up 2 percent from about 24.7 million a year earlier. Revenue per customer rose 6 percent to 473,930 won ($332), from 447,730 won ($323) in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Coupang Inc said it bought back 12.7 million Class A common shares worth $201 million during the third quarter.