Coupang’s third-quarter revenue rose 7% year over year to $10 billion, beating the $9.76 billion analyst consensus. Growth was 11% in constant currency, above the company’s guidance range of 8% to 9%. However, the South Korean e-commerce company reported an adjusted loss of $0.18 per share, compared with the $0.06 loss expected by analysts.
Profitability was affected by expenses related to a July fulfillment center fire, higher marketing spending and pressure on margins. Coupang reported a net loss attributable to stockholders of $501 million, or $321 million excluding the fire’s impact. Diluted loss per share was $0.28, or $0.18 excluding those costs. The company said the fire-related expenses totaled about $248 million.
Consolidated gross margin was 25.7%, rising to 26.7% when fire-related costs were excluded. Adjusted EBITDA was $116 million, with a margin of 1.2%. Management described the quarter as the low point for Product Commerce adjusted EBITDA margins and said it expects a recovery over the next several quarters.
Product Commerce revenue reached $8.4 billion, up 5% year over year as reported and 8% in constant currency. Management said growth would have been about 9% on a constant-currency basis after adjusting for the timing of the Chuseok holiday. The business had 25.2 million active customers, up 2% from both a year earlier and the previous quarter.
For the fourth quarter, Coupang expects constant-currency revenue growth of 13% to 14% and a sequential improvement of 50 to 150 basis points in consolidated adjusted EBITDA margin. Management attributed the expected improvement to a recovery in Product Commerce and lower marketing spending. It expects Product Commerce margins to return close to pre-incident levels by the second quarter of 2027.
Executives cited three sources of temporary pressure on Product Commerce margins: supply chain disruption following the fire, fixed costs that are not yet matched by demand, and increased marketing to bring back customers who left after a data incident. CEO Bom Kim said the company’s expectation of a recovery to roughly pre-incident margins next year had not changed.
Developing Offerings revenue grew 27% in constant currency, with Taiwan and Eats leading growth, according to Kim. Coupang raised its full-year 2026 loss guidance for Developing Offerings, mainly reflecting faster infrastructure and supply chain investment in Taiwan. Management said Korea and Japan Eats were expected to remain around break-even.
Coupang shares gained 3.61% during regular trading to close at $15.23, then fell 3.81% in after-hours trading to $14.65. The stock’s mixed session followed the revenue beat alongside the larger-than-expected loss and ongoing margin pressure.
Sources: Investing.com News.