Coupang Q4 Loss Widens to US$26M After 34M-Customer Data Breach
Coupang's Q4 loss of US$26M and 34% stock decline reveal how a 147-day undetected breach, botched crisis communications, and regulatory backlash devastated customer trust in Asia's e-commerce leader.
South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang reported a Q4 2025 net loss of US$26 million on February 27, swinging from a prior-year profit, after a data breach affecting 34 million customers eroded consumer confidence and pushed revenue below analyst forecasts.
Breach Scale and Financial Damage
Coupang's Q4 revenue came in at US$8.8 billion, missing the US$8.9 billion analyst estimate. South Korea generates over 90% of the company's total revenue, making the breach's domestic impact particularly severe.
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The breach originated on June 24, 2025, via overseas servers and went undetected for 147 days until November 16. Exposed data included names, phone numbers, emails, shipping addresses, and apartment access codes. Payment details and login credentials were not compromised.
Coupang's stock declined approximately 34% following breach disclosure. Monthly active users fell 3.5% between November and January. Average daily consumer spending dropped 6.3% to approximately US$97 million in January compared to November levels.
Communications Failures Compounded the Crisis
Authorities were initially notified of only 4,500 affected accounts on November 18. The full scope of 33.7 million affected customers was not disclosed until late November.
South Korea's Science Ministry publicly contradicted Coupang's framing of the incident as a sophisticated cyberattack, attributing it instead to management failures. The Ministry also cited a 24-hour reporting delay and non-compliance with data preservation orders.
Coupang's CEO of Korean operations resigned on November 18, the same day authorities were first notified. Founder Bom Kim declined to testify before the National Assembly. A January 2026 compensation package valued at approximately US$1.49 billion (roughly US$35 per affected customer in vouchers) was publicly dismissed as a "gimmick."
"We know the recent data leak has caused concern among our customers, and we apologize," Coupang said in an official statement. "Coupang remains fully committed to protecting customer data."
Competitors Captured Displaced Customers
Rival Naver recorded a 23% increase in monthly active users during the November-to-January period. Shares of E-mart, Lotte Mart, and CJ Logistics rallied following breach disclosure.
Coupang's product commerce segment active customers declined sequentially from 24.7 million in Q3 to 24.6 million in Q4, despite an 8% year-over-year gain. Constant-currency growth in product commerce hit approximately 4% in January 2026, its lowest recorded point.
CFO Gaurav Anand said on the earnings call that growth had likely "reached its lowest point in January at approximately 4 percent, before showing improvement in February." He also cited "a large number of customers reactivating their accounts and improving trends in customer growth" since quarter-end.
Regulatory Exposure and Outlook
Coupang faces potential fines of 3% to 10% of revenue under South Korean data protection law, an exposure that could exceed US$800 million. A separate antitrust fine of 2.2 billion won (approximately US$1.9 million) for pressuring suppliers was also issued.
A secondary breach affecting an additional 165,000 records was discovered in February 2026. US investors have filed lawsuits related to the breach's handling.
For Q1 2026, Coupang projects consolidated constant-currency revenue growth of 5% to 10%, with Anand cautioning that growth and profitability would remain muted in the near term.
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