Coupang Revenue Rises 7% to $9.962 Billion Despite Quarterly Per-Share Loss
Key Facts
Coupang reported revenue of $9.962 billion on November 3, 2026, for the third quarter ended September 30, up 7% year over year and 11% excluding the impact of currency movements. But sales growth coincided with the company swinging to a net loss of $501 million, after a profit of $95 million in the same period last year. It posted an operating loss of $450 million, compared with operating income of $162 million a year earlier. Diluted loss per share was $0.28, versus diluted earnings of $0.05 in the third quarter of 2025. The results put the widening gap between revenue growth and deteriorating profitability at the forefront of the company's performance, with the company attributing part of the impact to a fire at its logistics center in Incheon.
Revenue topped analysts' estimate of $9.76 billion, but adjusted loss per share was wider than expected. Adjusted loss was $0.18 per share after excluding costs related to the Incheon fire, versus an expected loss of $0.06, according to Investing.com. The comparison shows that beating sales expectations was not matched by similar performance in earnings per share. The $0.18 figure also excludes the impact of the fire, while reported diluted loss was $0.28 per share. Coupang announced its results on the same day its conference to discuss them was scheduled to take place.
Coupang said the July 2026 fire heavily damaged its leased logistics center in Incheon, South Korea, and affected its quarterly results. Net loss, excluding costs related to the fire, was $321 million. The comparison between the reported loss and the loss excluding those costs shows that the fire was a significant factor, but the company still recorded a net loss even after excluding its costs. Pressure also showed in operating income shifting from $162 million a year earlier to an operating loss of $450 million. The company linked these figures to the costs of the incident, without describing them as higher than expected.
Growth diverged between the company's two segments: revenue from Product Commerce rose 5% to $8.374 billion in the third quarter. By contrast, revenue from Developing Offerings increased 23% to $1.588 billion. In Product Commerce, active customers totaled 25.2 million, up 2% year over year. That puts customer-base growth below the segment's revenue growth, while Developing Offerings posted the faster increase of the two segment figures reported in the results. The revenue mix shows continued growth in both businesses alongside a decline in overall profitability.
In the stock market, CPNG shares rose 3.61% during the November 3 session to $15.23, then fell 3.81% after the close to $14.65, according to Investing.com. The stock ended regular trading higher before declining in subsequent trading. EL7 data shows the November 3 closing price was $15.23, compared with a close of $14.70 on November 2. The company repurchased 12.7 million Class A shares during the quarter for a total of $201 million. These figures put the share-price movement and buyback in the context of the quarterly results, without changing the fact that the reported loss widened.
The company forecast fourth-quarter revenue growth of between 13% and 14% on a constant-currency basis compared with the same period a year earlier. It also forecast sequential improvement of between 50 and 150 basis points in consolidated adjusted EBITDA margin. For Product Commerce, management said the margin was expected to return to levels near those before the fire by the second quarter of 2027. These forecasts set out the company's stated path for the coming period after a quarter in which it recorded a loss per share of $0.28 and a net loss of $501 million. The third-quarter results conference was scheduled for November 3 at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time, or 5:30 p.m. Eastern time.