Earnings Call Insights: Coupang (CPNG) Q4 2025
Management View
- CEO Bom Suk Kim opened the call by addressing a major data incident involving illegal access by a former employee, stating, “There is nothing more serious at Coupang than failing to live up to our customers’ expectations. We know we have to do better, and we will.” Kim emphasized ongoing efforts to regain customer trust and detailed the company’s investment in “greater levels of innovation and automation across our operations with the goal of improving the customer experience while lowering the cost to serve.”
- The company highlighted continued focus on expanding Rocket Delivery and increasing first-party retail selection, noting, “We’re actively investing to expand our first-party retail selection, which remains far below where we believe it can be.” Kim stressed that Developing Offerings, including Taiwan and Eats, remain key areas for disciplined investment: “Taiwan continues to experience hyper growth with revenues again growing triple digits year-over-year this quarter.”
- General Counsel Harold L. Rogers provided a detailed update on the data incident, reporting, “The method by which the former employee was able to access the system was closed and remediated in November 2025 and no longer poses any risk to customer data.” Rogers confirmed, “There have been 0 confirmed instances of any of this customer data being exploited.”
- CFO Gaurav Anand stated, “We ended the quarter with Product Commerce segment net revenue of $7.4 billion, growing 8% or 12% on a constant currency basis.” Anand explained that the data breach resulted in “a slowdown in December that appears related to the data incident,” and noted stabilization and recovery trends in customer engagement. On Developing Offerings, Anand reported record segment net revenues of $1.4 billion, “growing 32% or 31% in constant currency.”
Outlook
- The company guided for Q1 consolidated constant currency revenue growth in the 5% to 10% range, with CFO Anand stating, “For Q1, we anticipate growing consolidated constant currency revenues in the 5% to 10% range.” Management expects to provide full-year growth guidance in coming quarters as visibility improves.
- Anand cautioned that the annual trend of EBITDA margin expansion will be disrupted in 2026, citing “the dynamic trends in Product Commerce revenue growth, investments to support customers through this transition and potential costs related to the data incident.”
- Developing Offerings are expected to incur full-year adjusted EBITDA losses in 2026 between $950 million and $1 billion.
Financial Results
- Consolidated net revenues for Q4 were $8.8 billion, representing 11% reported and 14% constant currency growth. Gross profit was $2.5 billion, with a gross profit margin of 28.8%.
- Operating income for the quarter was $8 million. Net loss attributable to Coupang stockholders was $26 million, resulting in a diluted loss per share of $0.01.
- Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $267 million with a 3% margin. Free cash flow for the year was $527 million, with operating cash flow of $1.8 billion.
- Anand described the “nearly 50% year-over-year reduction in free cash flow” as “predominantly due to the data incident impact on working capital in Q4 as well as increased levels of capital expenditure.”
Q&A
- Stanley Yang, JPMorgan: Asked about the estimated negative financial impact of the data breach and trends in WOW membership and active users. Anand responded that “the data incident began to adversely impact revenue growth rates, active customers and WOW membership towards end of the quarter,” but added, “We have recently seen a stabilization of the adverse trends.”
- Minuh Cha, Goldman Sachs: Inquired about the timeline for Taiwan’s path to profitability and tech investment. Kim replied, “Once you have an experience that wows the customer, then the path to profitability is really a function of scale and operational leverage and we’re making progress on all three of those fronts.” Anand confirmed the company will “prioritize a larger portion of that spend to further strengthen our cybersecurity capabilities for the future.”
- Seyon Park, Morgan Stanley: Asked for more color on loss trends among Developing Offerings. Anand stated, “We manage our Developing Offerings as a portfolio of initiatives. Each are at a different stage of maturity and investment intensity. We’re not providing any specific guidance on losses or investments individually.”
- Jiong Shao, Barclays: Raised questions about timing of Developing Offerings investments, the impact of AI, and share buybacks. Kim stated, “We’re really excited about the progress we’re seeing on AI,” and Anand reported, “We repurchased about 5.9 million shares during the quarter as part of our existing authorization.”
- Wei Fang, Mizuho Securities: Asked about Taiwan pricing strategy and local vendor sales. Kim reiterated hyper growth and focus on delivering “the best experience at the lowest cost,” adding, “We’re still in the early stages of delivering all 3 aspects, all 3 pillars of the customer experience.”
Sentiment Analysis
- Analysts were slightly negative in tone, pressing for clarity on the financial impact of the data breach, recovery timelines, and profitability in Taiwan, with repeated questions on loss trends and customer engagement metrics.
- Management’s sentiment was measured and occasionally defensive, focusing on stabilization and recovery, with Kim emphasizing, “We know we have to do better, and we will,” and Anand highlighting, “We have recently seen a stabilization of the adverse trends.”
- Compared to last quarter, there was a shift from strong confidence and growth focus to caution and emphasis on remediation, with more defensive language in both prepared remarks and Q&A.
Quarter-over-Quarter Comparison
- Management’s tone shifted from optimism and margin expansion in Q3 to caution and focus on recovery in Q4, largely due to the data breach’s impact on customer growth, revenues, and margins.
- Last quarter, the company reported robust revenue and profit growth with margin expansion; this quarter, there was a slowdown in revenue growth, a decline in margins, and a net loss, with guidance signaling further near-term pressure.
- Analysts’ questions in Q4 centered more on risk, downside protection, and customer metrics, compared to the previous quarter’s focus on growth, technology investments, and expansion.
- Strategic priorities have shifted from rapid expansion to stabilizing operations and restoring customer trust.
Risks and Concerns
- The primary challenge discussed was the data breach and its broad impact on customer trust, revenue growth, and working capital.
- Management acknowledged ongoing government investigations and indicated that it is “too early to know what may come of these investigations or to what extent any fines or other actions may follow.”
- There is uncertainty regarding the pace of recovery in customer metrics and the potential for further impacts related to the breach.
- Analysts expressed concern about the trajectory of losses in Developing Offerings and the timing of a return to profitability, especially in Taiwan.
Final Takeaway
Coupang’s fourth quarter was marked by a major data incident that weighed on customer metrics and financial performance, leading to a slowdown in revenue growth, margin contraction, and a net loss. Management outlined a cautious outlook for the coming months, with near-term disruption to EBITDA margins and uneven growth as the company works to restore customer trust and stabilize trends. While the company remains committed to long-term investments in innovation, automation, and new markets—especially Taiwan—near-term results and guidance reflect the lingering impact of the breach and ongoing government scrutiny. The focus remains on operational recovery, customer retention, and disciplined capital allocation as Coupang navigates this transitional period.