NEW YORK, May 30, 2026, 14:07 (EDT)
Coupang Inc. finished the week higher after a bounce, though attention may shift to June. Shares on the NYSE were at $16.60 at the May 29 close, rising 2.47% for the day and roughly 3% compared to the previous Friday. U.S. markets did not trade on Memorial Day, May 25.
The rebound hasn’t made up for losses earlier in May. Shares are down about 20% from the May 5 close, just before investors saw Q1 numbers—sales rose, but the company turned to a steep loss.
S&P 500 climbed 0.2% Friday to end at 7,580.06, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.2% to 26,972.62. That gave the S&P its ninth consecutive weekly gain, according to the Associated Press. Coupang’s rise played out against a mixed group in online retail—Amazon dropped 1.2%, JD.com slid 1.1%, and MercadoLibre was flat.
Coupang’s first-quarter results are in, and the numbers are a mixed bag. Net revenue reached $8.5 billion, an 8% increase from a year ago. Net loss to stockholders was $266 million. Adjusted EBITDA dropped to $29 million, with a margin of 0.3%. The company bought back 20.4 million shares during the quarter and the board approved another $1 billion for its repurchase plan.
Management wants investors to see the quarter as a one-off. Founder and CEO Bom Kim told investors January marked “the low point” for Product Commerce revenue growth, and said Coupang had “closed nearly 80%” of the decline in WOW paid memberships by end of April. CFO Gaurav Anand said the company expects second-quarter constant-currency revenue growth of 9% to 10%. Constant currency excludes exchange-rate changes. He also said adjusted EBITDA margin should take a 300 to 400 basis point hit year over year, with each basis point equal to a hundredth of a percentage point.
Coupang had news out, but on a smaller scale. Seoul Economic Daily on Friday said Coupang reported its “Energy-Saving Shopping” event pushed up April sales for participating SMEs by around 10% on average. The promotion had about 240 small and medium-sized businesses offering 1,000 products. Seoul Economic Daily
The data-breach case is still the big concern. AsiaToday said Friday that a $5 million punitive-damages class action is set to go before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, with an initial scheduling conference scheduled for June 17. The court is expected to lay out plans for discovery then, which is when both sides hand over documents and evidence. Dong-hoo Son, attorney at Daeryun Law Firm, told the outlet the pace could change based on Coupang’s July 6 answer deadline and any motion to dismiss.
South Korea’s regulator is still hanging over the market in June. Korea JoongAng Daily said this month the Personal Information Protection Commission finished its investigation into a Coupang data leak that hit more than 33.6 million accounts and could announce penalties as soon as June. The report said the regulator could issue a fine up to 1.5 trillion won, but sales not tied to the breach might get left out of the calculation.
The risk isn’t one-sided. If the penalty is smaller than some expect, court moves slowly, or there’s more proof customers have returned, that might help the stock after a tough month. But a big fine, bad news in discovery, or membership numbers stalling could put the focus back on cash outflows and trust instead of revenue growth.
Looking to the week, Coupang traders will be watching for the U.S. jobs numbers while the market waits for a macro signal. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will put out its May nonfarm payrolls report — the main U.S. jobs count outside of farm work and some other groups — at 8:30 a.m. ET on June 5. Strong payrolls could push up yields and weigh on risk trades. A weaker read may put the focus back on company news.
Coupang is getting a lift Friday with a buyback and talk from management about a recovery. The stock’s story has more going on, with legal dates coming up in June and the regulator still expected to respond.
