Coupang Q1: 11% Revenue Growth, $1B Share Buyback Announced

Seattle, WA—Coupang Inc. (NYSE: CPNG) reported first-quarter revenue of $7.9 billion on Tuesday, up 11% from a year earlier. 

The company also announced a $1 billion stock repurchase program.

The company posted operating income of $154 million for the quarter ended March 31, an increase of $114 million compared to last year.

Net income reached $114 million, with $107 million attributable to Coupang stockholders, representing a $102 million increase from the previous year.

 Diluted earnings per share were $0.06, compared to zero in the first quarter of 2024.

"Today, we are announcing that our Board of Directors has recently authorized a stock repurchase program for up to $1 billion of our outstanding Class A common stock shares, as part of our broader capital allocation strategy," Coupang stated in its earnings release.

Gross profit increased 20% year-over-year to $2.3 billion, with gross profit margin expanding to 29.3%, an improvement of 217 basis points from the previous year. 

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $382 million, with a margin of 4.8%, up 88 basis points year over year.

When accounting for foreign exchange effects, Coupang's performance was stronger, with revenue up 21% and gross profit up 31% on an FX-neutral basis.

The company's core Product Commerce segment generated net revenues of $6.9 billion, up 6% year-over-year as reported and 16% on an FX-neutral basis. 

This segment's gross profit margin rose to 31.3%, an increase of over 300 basis points from the prior year.

Product Commerce Active Customers reached 23.4 million, growing 9% compared to the first quarter of 2024. 

The segment's adjusted EBITDA was $550 million, up $83 million year-over-year, with an 8.0% margin.

Net revenues in the Developing Offerings segment, which includes Coupang's International, Eats, Play, Fintech, and Farfetch businesses, rose 67% to $1.0 billion. 

This segment's adjusted EBITDA was negative $168 million, an improvement of $18 million from the prior year.

Coupang reported operating cash flow of $2.0 billion for the trailing twelve months and free cash flow of $1.0 billion. 

The company noted that both metrics decreased year-over-year, primarily due to "certain non-recurring working capital benefits in the prior period."

According to its balance sheet, as of March 31, Coupang held $6.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents.