Coupang and Q4 Setback: Data Breach Slows Growth

E-commerce leader Coupang swung to a fourth-quarter loss and missed revenue estimates, as the impact of a South Korea data breach weighed on performance.

The company reported Q4 revenue of $8.8 billion, slightly below analysts’ forecast of $8.9 billion, and a net loss of $26 million, reversing last year’s profit. Shares in New York closed up 1.9% despite the disappointing figures.

Coupang Korea, which drives over 90% of total revenue, faced public backlash after a November breach affected 34 million customers. Chief Financial Officer Gaurav Anand noted that active customers in the product commerce segment rose 8% year-on-year to 24.6 million but slightly declined from the previous quarter, reflecting breach-related fallout.

“We are seeing stabilization since the end of Q4, with many customers reactivating accounts and improving growth trends,” Anand said. He added that constant-currency growth in January reached its lowest point at around 4% but began improving in February. For Q1, the company anticipates 5% to 10% revenue growth.

Despite these measures, Anand cautioned that near-term growth and profitability would remain muted, gradually recovering over the year.

The breach exposed users’ names, phone numbers, and shipping addresses, though payment and login details were not compromised. Coupang has pledged stronger safeguards against future incidents. Interim head Harold Rogers attributed the attack to a former employee exploiting insider knowledge, while South Korea’s Science Ministry cited management failures.

The company now faces increased competition as rivals capitalize on the incident and a proposed regulatory change threatens its ultra-fast delivery dominance. Separately, South Korea’s antitrust regulator fined Coupang $1.53 million for supplier-related practices, a matter unrelated to the breach.