Seoul: E-commerce giant Coupang Inc. announced on Wednesday that it experienced a net loss in the second quarter, primarily due to substantial fines stemming from a significant data breach. In the quarter ending in June, the U.S.-listed company reported a net loss of 865 billion won (US$570 million), a sharp contrast to the net profit of 43.5 billion won recorded in the same period last year, as stated in a press release.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the company, which primarily generates revenue through its Korean operations, faced intense public scrutiny following the revelation of a data breach in November 2025 affecting over 37 million customers. Consequently, in June, the Personal Information Protection Commission levied a record fine of 624.7 billion won on Coupang for the breach and for collecting users' online activity data without consent.
Coupang's core online shopping business, the Product Commerce segment, saw a modest 1 percent increase in sales from the previous year, reaching $7.42 billion in the second quarter. During an earnings conference call, Coupang's Chief Financial Officer Gaurav Anand highlighted that these results include the fines imposed by Korean regulatory authorities. He also mentioned that while the fines are still under judicial review, the company has recorded the expenses for this quarter and plans to appeal them in court.
Despite the data breach, most customers returned and resumed their spending at previous levels, as shared by Coupang's founder and Chairman Bom Kim. Excluding those who have not returned since the incident, customer spending increased by 16 percent compared to the previous year in the second quarter. Based on these trends, Coupang anticipates an 8-9 percent growth in third-quarter sales compared to the previous year, despite the Chuseok holiday occurring in late September this year, as opposed to October last year.
Additionally, revenue from Coupang's Developing Offerings segment, which includes its Taiwan business and the food delivery service Coupang Eats, surged by 20 percent from the previous year, reaching $1.43 billion. The number of active Product Commerce customers rose by 3 percent year-on-year, totaling 24.7 million.
Coupang also disclosed that it repurchased $459 million worth of shares in the second quarter, following the approval of a $1 billion stock buyback program by its board in the prior quarter. However, the company also reported a shift to an operating loss of 835 billion won in the second quarter, compared to an operating profit of 209.3 billion won a year earlier. Sales rose by 4 percent to 13.3 trillion won from 11.97 trillion won in the previous year.
In a separate announcement, Coupang revealed it was subjected to additional taxes amounting to US$208 million after the National Tax Service (NTS) audited the corporate income tax and value-added tax filings of its South Korean subsidiaries for the 2021-2025 tax years. The NTS raised concerns regarding transfer pricing arrangements and transactions between Coupang Corp. and its logistics unit, Coupang Fulfillment Services. The company emphasized its disagreement with the proposed adjustments and expressed its intent to vigorously defend its positions through all available administrative remedies and, if necessary, judicial proceedings.