Coupang: Growth In South Korea To Decelerate

Summary:

  • Coupang is a dominant South Korean e-commerce retailer, but it faces decelerating growth as most households are already customers.
  • The company’s core business remains strong, but its new ventures, like food delivery and Farfetch, are currently loss-making and still uncertain.
  • Coupang’s valuation appears fair, trading at ~22X three-year forward earnings, with potential growth driven by increasing market share and improving margins.
  • Given the uncertainties in new initiatives and decelerating market growth, we are staying on the sidelines while closely monitoring the company’s progress.

Seoul crowds pedestrianised shopping streets Myeongdong city nightlife Korea

fotoVoyager

Executive Summary

Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) is a South Korean e-commerce market champion and is often dubbed the Amazon (AMZN) of Korea. The company owns its logistics network, offers next-day delivery for its loyalty scheme members and has a


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