Coupang reports record $8.52B revenue in Q2 as Taiwan business grows 'faster and stronger'

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Coupang reports record $8.52B revenue in Q2 as Taiwan business grows 'faster and stronger'

Published: 06 Aug. 2025, 15:48

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Coupang's headquarters in Songpa District, southern Seoul [NEWS1]

Coupang posted its highest-ever quarterly revenue of $8.52 billion in the second quarter this year driven by strong growth in new businesses including its recently launched operations in Taiwan. The company also swung to an operating profit from a loss a year earlier.

According to a quarterly earnings report Coupang submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday, revenue for the April to June period increased 19 percent year-over-year. The figure surpassed the previous record of $7.91 billion set in the first quarter of this year.

Coupang's second quarter operating profit came in at $149 million, a turnaround from an operating loss of $25 million during the same period of last year. In the second quarter of last year, Coupang initially surpassed the 10 trillion won ($7.2 billion) mark in quarterly revenue but eventually posted a loss for the first time in eight quarters after reflecting estimated fines in advance for manipulating search rankings of its private label products, according to the Fair Trade Commission.

Its operating margin for the second quarter of 2025 stood at 1.7 percent, down 0.3 percentage points from 2.0 percent in the first quarter. Net profit came in at $31 million, also swinging to black from last year's loss. The net margin was 0.4 percent compared with 1.4 percent in the previous quarter.

Coupang attributed the record results to a 33 percent year-over-year increase in revenue from its developing offerings division — including its Taiwan operations, Farfetch and Coupang Eats — which together generated $1.2 billion in revenue. Revenue from Taiwan in the second quarter alone surged 54 percent compared to the previous quarter and more than tripled from a year earlier.

A Coupang delivery truck [COUPANG]

In March, Coupang launched its WOW membership in Taiwan, a market with a population of 23 million and a retail market valued at 4.58 trillion New Taiwan dollars ($152.71 billion). Since entering the Taiwanese market in 2022, Coupang has invested around 10.64 billion New Taiwan dollars in logistics infrastructure and product offerings.

“Our Taiwan offering is growing faster and stronger than even the most optimistic forecasts we set at the beginning of the year,” said Coupang Inc. CEO and founder Bom Kim during the earnings call. “What’s most encouraging is that this growth is primarily fueled by repeat customers. Our conviction in the long-term potential of Taiwan is only growing as we’re seeing a trajectory similar to what we saw in the early years of scaling our retail offering in Korea.”

Revenue from Coupang’s core product commerce division, which includes Rocket Delivery and Rocket Fresh, reached $7.3 billion in the second quarter, up 17 percent from a year earlier. The number of quarterly active customers — those who made at least one purchase — rose to 23.9 million, a 10 percent increase year-over-year.

“In addition to adding over half a million new items on Rocket [Delivery] in the past quarter alone, we increased our same-day and dawn delivery volume by more than 40 percent compared to the same period last year,” Kim said.

Fresh food sales also grew by 25 percent in the second quarter from the previous year.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY HWANG SOO-YEON [[email protected]]