Coupang Hits “KRW 12 Trillion Q2 Sales” Milestone, Taiwan Results Materialize… “Global Rocket Growth”

[Korea Financial Times, Park seulgi] Coupang’s achievements in Taiwan are now coming to the fore. Nearly three years since its entry into Taiwan in 2022, the company’s growth businesses, including Taiwan, posted their highest-ever quarterly sales in the second quarter of this year. This exceeds even Coupang’s most optimistic initial forecasts. Kim Bom-suk, Chairman of Coupang, expressed confidence that the company’s business in Taiwan will unlock significant market opportunities and generate meaningful cash flow going forward.

According to Coupang Inc.’s consolidated earnings report for the second quarter, submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the 6th (Korea time), the company recorded its all-time highest quarterly sales in Q2 this year. Sales reached KRW 11.9763 trillion (USD 8.524 billion), up 19% from the same period last year (KRW 10.0357 trillion). In the same period, operating profit turned positive, posting KRW 209.3 billion (USD 149 million).

The rapid growth of businesses such as Taiwan, Farfetch, and Coupang Eats stands out. The “growth businesses” segment achieved record sales of KRW 1.6719 trillion (USD 1.19 billion) in Q2, representing a 33% increase year-on-year. That is also an 11% jump compared to sales of KRW 1.5078 trillion (USD 1.038 billion) in the previous quarter. In particular, Q2 sales in Taiwan rose by 54% over the previous quarter.

Chairman Kim Bom-suk stated during the earnings conference call that “Q2 sales growth in Taiwan recorded triple digits compared to Q2 of last year, and growth for the coming third quarter should be even greater.” He explained, “The most encouraging aspect is that growth in Taiwan is primarily being driven by repeat customers,” adding, “While newly acquired customers contributed, and active customers increased by nearly 40% from the prior quarter, this quarter’s sales growth above all came from continued strengthening of spending by the existing customer group.”

With the Taiwan business rapidly establishing itself, investments in growth businesses are also rising. Coupang CFO Gorab Anand stated, “The adjusted EBITDA loss for this quarter was KRW 330.1 billion (USD 235 million),” and “this shows that the scale of investment has increased compared to Q2 of last year (KRW 274 billion, USD 200 million) and the previous Q1 (KRW 244 billion, USD 168 million).” He identified the acceleration of growth in Taiwan as the main reason.

Taiwan, which Coupang selected as its next global market in 2022, boasts one of the world’s highest rates of internet penetration, at around 90% according to DataReportal. The country also has a high population density, at 673 people per km², exceeding that of Korea (515 per km²), making it an attractive target. The popularity of K-content fuels demand for Korean products, and the market shares many characteristics with Korea, making global expansion relatively straightforward for Coupang.

Coupang has been actively expanding large fulfillment centers in Taiwan as well. The company launched Rocket Delivery and Rocket Direct Purchase services through logistics investment, focusing on enhancing local customer experience. In addition, Coupang has supported the export of more than 12,000 Korean small- and medium-sized enterprises to Taiwan, expanding global market access for Korean SMEs. In recognition of these efforts, Coupang received a citation from the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy at the “2025 Specialized Trading Company Designation Ceremony” in July.
Presenting the Q2 results, Chairman Kim emphasized that Taiwan’s current growth closely resembles the early growth trajectory seen in Korea. He stated that just as Product Commerce (Rocket Delivery, Rocket Fresh, Rocket Growth, Marketplace) became the long-term growth engine in the Korean market, the company expects significant market opportunity to materialize for Coupang in Taiwan as well.

He said, “Taiwan is showing a similar trajectory to our initial years of expanding retail services in Korea, which is boosting our confidence in its long-term growth potential.”

With increased investments in the Taiwan business, Coupang has also revised upward its loss forecast for growth businesses this year. CFO Anand said, “As the potential in Taiwan is expanding rapidly, we expect the annual adjusted EBITDA loss to reach USD 900 million to USD 950 million (KRW 1.3 trillion),” adding, “this investment reflects our strengthened confidence in the short- and long-term potential of our services in Taiwan.”

He continued, “The increase in customer spending in Taiwan is highly encouraging and is driving investment, following a trend similar to when we were building our Product Commerce business in Korea.” He added, “Given our confidence in our ability to generate revenue and improve margins over the coming years, we view this as a very attractive investment.”

Park seulgi (seulgi@fntimes.com)