Lead

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.

Coverage Comparison

All five reports from Yonhap News — English consistently reported the same core financial figures: the net loss of $266 million, the operating loss of $242 million, and the 8 percent sales increase to $8.5 billion. The reports also uniformly noted that the data breach affected approximately 33.6 million customers.

Differences emerged in the level of detail provided. Three of the five reports included additional context about the company's recovery from previous losses, noting that Coupang had steadily narrowed its operating losses beginning in 2022 and returned to operating profit in the third quarter of that year. Two reports also detailed segment performance, with sales in the product commerce segment rising 4 percent on-year to $7.2 billion and revenue from developing offerings segment jumping 28 percent to $1.3 billion.

One report, dated May 12, focused on the regulatory response to the data breach, while the other four, dated May 6, concentrated on the earnings announcement. The May 12 report stated that the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) had concluded its probe into the breach and notified its results to the company early last month. Another report included additional details from a conference call with founder and Chairman Bom Kim, while a fifth noted that the company had recovered nearly 80 percent of the decline in its paid WOW membership base.

Key Claims

  • Coupang posted a net deficit of $266 million in the first quarter, compared with a net profit of $114 million a year earlier.
  • The operating loss was $242 million, compared with an operating profit of $154 million in the same period last year.
  • Sales rose 8 percent on-year to $8.5 billion.
  • The data breach in November 2025 involved 33.6 million customers.
  • Coupang had previously narrowed its operating losses starting in 2022 and returned to operating profit in the third quarter of that year.
  • Product commerce segment sales rose 4 percent on-year to $7.2 billion.
  • Developing offerings segment revenue jumped 28 percent to $1.3 billion.
  • The number of product commerce active customers increased 2 percent on-year to 23.9 million.
  • Coupang repurchased $391 million worth of shares in the first quarter, and its board recently approved an additional $1 billion stock buyback program.
  • The Personal Information Protection Commission concluded its probe into the data breach and notified its results to Coupang early last month.
  • Under the data protection law, companies can be fined up to 3 percent of their average annual sales over the past three years, and based on 2025 sales of Coupang Inc. (about 49 trillion won), the regulator could theoretically levy a fine as high as around 1.5 trillion won.
  • Coupang had recovered nearly 80 percent of the decline in its paid WOW membership base in the first four months of this year.
  • The Fair Trade Commission designated Bom Kim as the controlling figure of Coupang's de facto controlling entity.
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. 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.

Regarding the regulatory probe, the PIPC's notification reportedly included Coupang's suspected violations of the personal information protection law and potential corrective measures, but did not specify any penalty amount. Coupang reportedly pushed back against the overall direction of the watchdog's potential measures in its opinion, according to industry sources. A finalized penalty decision could be made as early as next month, with the PIPC aiming to close the case within the first half of the year, sources said.