Seoul: U.S.-listed e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. announced on Wednesday that it experienced a net loss in the first quarter, attributing the downturn to the repercussions of a substantial customer data breach in South Korea.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Coupang reported a net deficit of $266 million for the January-March period, a stark contrast to the net profit of $114 million recorded during the same period last year. The company also reported an operating loss of $242 million, compared to a net profit of $154 million a year ago. Despite these losses, sales increased by 8 percent year-on-year, reaching $8.5 billion.

Coupang Korea, responsible for over 90 percent of the group's revenue, has been under intense public scrutiny since the disclosure of the data breach in November 2025, which affected approximately 33.6 million customers. This breach contributed to Coupang's largest net and operating losses since the fourth quarter of 2021.

Despite previously narrowing its operating losses and achieving an operating profit in the third quarter of 2022, Coupang faced setbacks in the first quarter of this year. Sales within its core product commerce segment, which focuses on online shopping, increased by 4 percent year-on-year to $7.2 billion. Meanwhile, revenue from its developing offerings segment, encompassing its Taiwan business and the food delivery service Coupang Eats, saw a 28 percent rise to $1.3 billion during the same period.

The number of active customers in the product commerce segment grew by 2 percent year-on-year, totaling 23.9 million. In response to the financial challenges, Coupang repurchased $391 million worth of shares in the first quarter and announced that its board has approved an additional $1 billion stock buyback program.