this quarter continue to demonstrate our conviction that Korea remains a remarkably durable growth opportunity with a largely untapped runway ahead,” Bom Kim, founder and CEO of Coupang, said during the company’s earnings call. “We continue to see broad-based strength across our customer cohorts.” Core strength at home Its Product Commerce business, which includes Rocket Delivery, Rocket Fresh, Rocket Growth and Marketplace, saw net revenue rise 18 per cent to $8 billion, while adjusted EBITDA increased 50 per cent to $705 million. That performance helped lift Coupang’s gross profit margin to 29.4 per cent, its strongest level since listing, supported by supply chain efficiencies and the scaling of higher-margin categories. Chief executive officer Bom Kim credited the results to “broad-based strength across customer cohorts,” pointing to the consistency of consumer spending on the platform. Coupang ended the quarter with 24.7 million active customers, up 10 per cent year-on-year, while revenue per active customer climbed 7 per cent in constant currency to $329. Taiwan remains its growth In the past year, Taiwan has quickly emerged as Coupang’s second engine of growth. Revenue in what Coupang calls its Developing Offerings segment, which includes Taiwan, Coupang Eats, Coupang Play and Farfetch, grew 32 per cent year-on-year to $1.3 billion. The company stated that its Taiwan business grew by “triple digits” during the quarter, driven by the surging adoption of Rocket Delivery and early traction from its newly launched third-party marketplace. “These levels of customer adoption in Taiwan are similar to those we saw at the same stage in building our retail business in Korea, reinforcing our confidence in its long-term potential,” Kim said, adding the region’s growth will be driven by “rapidly expanding selection” and last-mile logistics in Taiwan. Coupang has already begun expanding its first-party retail assortment in Taiwan while rolling out its third-party marketplace to broaden product selection. Meanwhile, its last-mile logistics network is scaling rapidly, with an increasing share of local orders now fulfilled directly by Coupang’s own couriers. Margin discipline While losses in the Developing Offerings segment widened to $292 million from $127 million a year earlier, management emphasised that the red ink reflects strategic investment rather than operational weakness. Chief financial officer Gaurav Anand said the company expects losses for the year to land at the upper end of its $900–$950 million guidance, primarily due to scaling costs in Taiwan. Coupang’s profitability also owes much to operational innovation, particularly in logistics automation. “We’re aggressively accelerating the deployment of automation technologies across our logistics and fulfilment network, which remains at low levels relative to its potential,” Kim said. “Enabled by our culture of process and technology innovation, this automation is already improving service levels and operating costs, and we expect it will become an even more powerful driver of both in the years ahead.” The company is also investing in sustainability. It has recently expanded its reusable ‘ecobag’ program to a wider range of deliveries, reducing packaging waste and streamlining the customer experience. In parallel, Coupang’s Fulfillment and Logistics by Coupang (FLC) service continues to grow rapidly, enabling merchants to tap into the same logistics infrastructure that powers Rocket Delivery. FLC’s expansion has helped Coupang deepen its merchant relationships and diversify revenue streams. “Looking ahead, we believe one of the biggest opportunities to expand our customer value proposition and drive future growth is broadening selection across both first-party and marketplace offerings,” Kim said. Further reading: Coupang turns a profit, but can Taiwan fuel the next stage of growth?