Why Does Coupang Keep Delivering at Dawn? The Real Reason the 'Korean Amazon' Won't Let Go of Taiwan Despite Billions in Annual Losses

Coupang, often dubbed the 'Korean Amazon,' released its second-quarter 2026 financial results on August 4. As of June 30, the company achieved quarterly revenue of $88.56 billion (approximately NT$278 billion), marking a 4% year-over-year increase. Excluding foreign exchange impacts, revenue grew by 10%. However, due to administrative penalties related to a personal data breach incident, operating profit turned into a $556 million loss. Net loss attributable to shareholders reached $570 million (approximately NT$17.9 billion).

In response, Facebook finance page 'Gu Ren Ah Xun' pointed out on the 13th that Coupang is reshaping Taiwanese consumers’ expectations regarding delivery speed. He emphasized that more important than Coupang’s growth rate are three key metrics: whether 'Taiwan customer repurchase rates can continue rising,' 'if per-order delivery costs can be reduced,' and 'whether consumers will stay even after significant subsidies are removed.'

Looking deeper into the financial report, Coupang’s 'Developing Offerings' segment—covering markets such as Taiwan—generated $1.4 billion (NT$44 billion) in Q2 revenue, a 20% year-over-year increase. At constant exchange rates, this represents 24% growth. However, adjusted EBITDA remained in deficit, recording a loss of $219 million.

'Gu Ren Ah Xun,' an experienced e-commerce operator, noted that one major reason for Coupang’s $570 million quarterly net loss was a record-breaking fine due to the data breach. Even excluding this penalty, Coupang still posted a loss, with continued investments in the Taiwan market being the primary drag on profitability.

He further explained that Coupang’s efforts in Taiwan go beyond simple discounts and shipping subsidies—they are rebuilding an entire e-commerce infrastructure, including proprietary warehouses, self-operated delivery networks, next-day and weekend deliveries, and even early-morning deliveries. While these services strongly resonate with consumers, each component is extremely costly. Beyond vehicle fleets and labor expenses, maintaining rapid delivery requires deeper inventory stocking. In reality, e-commerce businesses don’t fear lack of orders; they fear growing faster while losing more money per order. This explains why Coupang maintains high growth in Taiwan yet remains the main source of losses within its emerging business segment.

Nevertheless, he stated that he does not believe Coupang is blindly burning cash.

'Gu Ren Ah Xun' analyzed that Coupang’s strategy is evolving—from aggressively capturing market share at all costs toward a phase of balancing growth with loss control. This transition is challenging. From suppliers’ perspective, Coupang brings massive order volumes but may demand price reductions of 20–30%, causing some brands unwilling to sacrifice margins to exit. For consumers, low prices, fast delivery, and free shipping are enjoyed—but behind the scenes, the platform pays upfront. The real question is: 'How long can this spending continue?'

Coupang’s strategic shifts include:

- Past: Aggressively acquiring customers via subsidies, low prices, and competing with major brands - Present: Exiting high-cost third-party warehouses, improving proprietary logistics efficiency, and more aggressively pressuring suppliers to lower prices to protect gross margins

'Gu Ren Ah Xun' further stated that Coupang’s greatest advantage lies in its willingness to invest time to reshape consumer habits and scale logistics operations—a model proven successful in South Korea. The goal is to make next-day delivery, weekend shipping, and even morning deliveries the norm, thereby increasing customer stickiness. This is precisely why Coupang hasn’t slowed down despite losing hundreds of billions of NT dollars annually in Taiwan—it’s not betting on short-term profits, but on becoming the gateway to Taiwan’s future e-commerce landscape.

In conclusion, he stressed that e-commerce must eventually return to reality. While subsidies can inflate revenue, profitability ultimately depends on efficiency. If Coupang can boost logistics density, repurchase rates, and product margins, today’s losses could become tomorrow’s moat. Conversely, if consumers care only about 'cheap prices' and suppliers cannot withstand pricing pressure, then no matter how high the revenue, it’s merely prosperity built on money.