SEOUL–E-commerce giant Coupang reported a net loss of 715.1 billion won ($501 million) for the third quarter of 2026, reversing a profit from a year earlier as costs associated with a major warehouse fire and the continuing effects of a massive customer data breach weighed on its financial performance.
The U.S.-listed company, which generates most of its revenue in South Korea, recorded a net profit of 131.6 billion won during the corresponding quarter last year, according to financial results released Wednesday.
Coupang attributed a significant portion of its latest quarterly losses to a fire that broke out in July at one of its fulfillment centers in Incheon, approximately 30 kilometers west of Seoul.
The blaze caused substantial financial damage and became the second-longest-lasting warehouse fire in South Korean history, according to Yonhap News Agency.
The longest such fire occurred in 2021 at another Coupang distribution facility in Icheon, about 50 kilometers southeast of Seoul. That blaze burned for approximately 130 hours.
Excluding expenses associated with the latest fulfillment center fire, Coupang reported a third-quarter net loss of 458.2 billion won.
The latest results marked the company’s third consecutive quarterly loss in 2026, reflecting continued financial pressures beyond the warehouse incident.
Coupang has also been dealing with the consequences of a major data breach disclosed in November 2025 that affected more than 37 million customers.
The incident triggered widespread public criticism in South Korea and contributed to customer departures, creating additional challenges for the company’s core online retail operations.
Despite those difficulties, revenue from Coupang’s Product Commerce division, which includes its primary online shopping business, increased 8% year over year to 11.95 trillion won during the July-September quarter.
Coupang Founder and Chief Executive Officer Kim Bom-suk said the company expects its core retail business to recover gradually as the effects of the data breach diminish.
“Product Commerce is tracking toward the mid-next year recovery we laid out last quarter. We expect the reported growth and margins to approximate historical levels as we lap the affected periods (driven by the data incident) next year,” Kim said during an earnings conference call.
Kim acknowledged that some customers who stopped using Coupang following the data breach have not returned to the platform.
However, he said the company has attracted new members who have helped offset some of those losses.
The company identified three temporary factors affecting profitability in its Product Commerce division.
These included supply chain challenges, higher fixed costs relative to demand levels before the data breach and increased marketing spending aimed at bringing back customers who abandoned the platform following the security incident.
The combination of those pressures has weighed on operating margins even as the company’s core retail business continues to generate revenue growth.
Kim said management does not consider these challenges permanent and expects profitability in Product Commerce to recover as customer activity stabilizes and temporary expenses decline.
The company anticipates that the division’s margins will eventually return to levels recorded before the data breach.
Coupang’s latest financial results underscore the continuing impact of the warehouse fire and customer data security incident on its operations, with the company working to restore profitability while rebuilding consumer confidence in its largest market. (Source: IANS)
