A “Quit Coupang” campaign, involving account cancellations and a boycott following a large-scale customer data leak, has been confirmed in actual indicators at Coupang. In the fourth quarter last year, which included the period of the leak, Coupang’s operating profit fell 97 percent from a year earlier. It also saw changes in active customer numbers and WOW membership indicators.

On an annual basis, however, both revenue and operating profit increased to the highest results on record. Growth in Taiwan, which had been cited as a key prospect last year, also stood out.

Key indicators saw mixed effects in a “turbulent fourth quarter”... Coupang says it is now in a stabilisation phase.

Coupang on Feb. 27, Korea time, acknowledged in its earnings release that the large-scale personal data leak had mixed effects on key indicators. The impact of the “Quit Coupang” campaign appeared in fourth-quarter revenue growth, active customers and changes in the number of WOW members. That differs somewhat from views that Coupang’s monthly active users were not falling sharply.

According to Coupang Inc’s consolidated fourth-quarter and annual results report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on the day, fourth-quarter operating profit was 11.5 billion won, down 97 percent from 435.3 billion won a year earlier, based on an average quarterly won-dollar exchange rate of 1,449.96 won. Net loss for the period was 37.7 billion won, swinging to a loss. Fourth-quarter operating margin was 0.09 percent.

Revenue for the period rose 11 percent from a year earlier to 12.81 trillion won. Fourth-quarter revenue was 5 percent lower than 12.85 trillion won in the previous third quarter.

Coupang said the number of active customers in the fourth quarter was 2,460. It was down by 100,000 from 24.7 million in the third quarter. Active customers are consumers who made at least one purchase during the period.

Gaurav Anand (거랍 아난드), chief financial officer, said on an earnings conference call that he had confirmed the number of WOW members fell slightly from a year earlier in the fourth quarter. He acknowledged the cancellation rate was high in December last year, immediately after the leak, and that it was related to the data incident.

Anand said the product commerce segment’s growth rate fell from around 16 percent before the incident to the 4 percent range last month. Because the segment includes Rocket Delivery and Rocket Fresh in Korea, it is analysed as a sharp slowdown in growth in the Korean market.

Coupang, however, viewed the fourth-quarter deterioration as temporary. It said the shock from the leak was entering a stabilisation phase rather than becoming prolonged. Anand stressed that the product commerce segment’s growth rate, which fell to the 4 percent range last month, has shown signs of improvement from this month. He also forecast first-quarter total revenue would grow 5 to 10 percent on a constant currency basis.

Despite the fourth-quarter shock, Coupang’s annual report card was compiled as the best performance on record. Operating profit rose 8 percent to 679.0 billion won. Net profit increased to 303.0 billion won from 94.0 billion won a year earlier, more than tripling. Annual operating margin, however, fell to 1.38 percent from 1.46 percent a year earlier.

Annual revenue rose 14 percent from 41.29 trillion won to 49.12 trillion won, but it failed to reach 50 trillion won.

Anand said Coupang would present annual growth guidance in coming quarters as it gains visibility on the pace of recovery related to the personal data leak. He forecast that the trend of expanding annual consolidated EBITDA would be halted this year, considering volatility in product commerce revenue growth, transition-period investments to support customers and potential costs related to the personal data incident.

By business segment, growth rates in Taiwan and Coupang Eats, described as global and new growth engines, were more prominent than in Korea, one of its core service pillars, and Rocket Delivery.

Revenue from growth businesses, including Taiwan, Coupang Eats, Farfetch, a luxury e-commerce platform, and Coupang Play, rose 38 percent to 7.03 trillion won. Coupang’s product commerce revenue rose 11 percent to 42.01 trillion won. The product commerce segment includes Rocket Delivery, Rocket Fresh, Rocket Growth and the marketplace.

The Taiwan market is a segment that Kim Beom-seok (김범석), chairman of Coupang Inc, cited as a key growth business last year. He projected growth in new regions and areas such as Taiwan based on existing businesses that delivered results in Korea, including Rocket Delivery.

On a 2024 earnings conference call held in February last year, Kim said, “At the start of 2025, we have a very exciting journey ahead in Taiwan,” showing strong commitment to expanding global business. Coupang launched WOW membership in Taiwan early last year and focused on growth in delivery services such as Coupang Eats in Korea and Rocket Now in Japan.

Kim says, “I apologise for causing worry and inconvenience”... Can it restore customer trust?

On the conference call, Kim offered his first spoken apology over the personal data leak. He said, “Before explaining fourth-quarter results in detail, I would like to once again apologise for the worry and inconvenience caused by the data security incident announced at the end of last year.”

He also mentioned customer trust. Kim stressed, “Customers are the only reason Coupang exists,” and added, “We are doing our best every day to earn customers’ trust.”

Kim released a written apology on Dec. 28 last year, but it was his first time to speak out directly since the incident.

For that reason, whether Kim would directly address the large-scale customer data leak in Korea on the conference call was another point of interest in this earnings release. With Kim issuing an apology in a formal setting, attention is on whether meaningful improvements in consumer indicators will be achieved as Coupang forecasts.