Coupang revenue rises 7% to $9.962 billion as quarterly loss reaches $501 million
Key Facts
Coupang reported third-quarter results on Nov. 3, posting revenue of $9.962 billion for the three months ended Sept. 30, up 7% year over year and 11% on a constant-currency basis. But the company swung to a net loss of $501 million, after recording net income of $95 million in the year-earlier period. Diluted loss per share was $0.28, compared with earnings of $0.05 a year earlier. The company estimated losses from the fire at its Incheon logistics center at $248 million during the quarter. The results show a widening gap between sales growth and mounting losses, with the fire adding pressure to performance.
Excluding the impact of the fire, Coupang's net loss attributable to shareholders was $321 million, while operating loss reached $202 million. These remain losses even after isolating the costs the company linked to the Incheon fire. On an adjusted basis, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $116 million, with a 1.2% margin. The margin was 4.5% in the third quarter of 2025, when adjusted earnings reached $413 million. That represents a year-over-year margin decline of 329 basis points, alongside negative free cash flow of $72 million.
Revenue trends diverged between the company's two main businesses. Product commerce revenue rose 5% to $8.374 billion, while developing offerings revenue increased 23% to $1.588 billion. In the latter segment, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization showed a loss of $269 million, an improvement of $23 million year over year. This indicates the segment recorded an adjusted loss, though it was narrower than a year earlier. Product commerce, meanwhile, combined revenue growth with an expansion in its active customer base.
Active customers in product commerce totaled 25.2 million, up 2% from a year earlier. Revenue per active customer rose 3% to $332, from $323 in the year-earlier period. Chief Executive Bom Kim said WOW membership in Korea reached the highest level in the company's history. He added that returning customers had recovered their previous spending and continued to increase it. In Taiwan, the company said its Dawn Delivery service reached more than half the population one quarter after launch, and WOW membership there more than doubled year over year.
On the results call, Kim said consolidated revenue grew 11% on a constant-currency basis, exceeding the company's guidance range. He added that the third quarter represented the bottom for the product commerce segment's adjusted earnings margin. Coupang forecast fourth-quarter revenue growth of between 13% and 14% on a constant-currency basis compared with the fourth quarter of 2025. It also guided to sequential improvement of between 50 and 150 basis points in adjusted margin in the fourth quarter compared with the third. Management said the product commerce margin is expected to return to levels close to those before the fire by the second quarter of 2027.
Coupang repurchased 12.7 million Class A shares during the quarter, for a total of $201 million. The buybacks came in the same period that the company recorded a quarterly net loss of $501 million and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $116 million. In regular trading on Nov. 3, the stock rose 3.61% to $15.23. Market data show that closing price on the day the results were announced. The company's fourth-quarter outlook and the recovery of product commerce margins put the next phase of performance at the center of investor attention.