lion. Adjusted EBITDA fell 37 per cent to $267 million, compressing margin to 3 per cent from 5.3 per cent a year earlier.  Management acknowledged that the data incident dented growth in December, weighing on active customers, Wow membership and profitability – disrupting what had previously been a steady pattern of margin expansion. The cost of distrust  Founder and CEO Bom Kim opened the earnings call with a rare public apology. “There is nothing more serious at Coupang than failing to live up to our customers’ expectations,” he said. The breach itself did not expose financial data or government IDs, according to internal and third-party forensic investigations. However, in the immediate aftermath, customers removed saved payment methods, changed passwords, and, in some cases, deleted accounts.  In the core Product Commerce segment, accounting for more than 90 per cent of group revenue, active customers rose 8 per cent year on year to 24.6 million. Yet sequentially, that figure dipped from the prior quarter, a rare contraction that management linked to the breach. Meanwhile, revenue per Product Commerce active customer was effectively flat at $301.  Coupang’s CFO Gaurav Anand told investors that constant-currency growth in product commerce likely bottomed at around 4 per cent in January before improving in February. Coupang’s high-margin Wow membership program also saw elevated churn in December. Management said both churn and new sign-ups have since stabilized, but the damage was enough to interrupt the consistent margin expansion. More notably, management warned that annual EBITDA margin expansion will be “disrupted” this year due to slower growth, customer support investments, and potential incident-related costs.  To reinforce customer goodwill, Coupang announced a voucher program worth approximately $1.2 billion, available to affected users beginning mid-January. A crisis of governance, aside from cybersecurity Meanwhile, the scale of the exposure, effectively the entire user base, has turned into a broader governance crisis. Securities filings showed two senior executives sold shares after unauthorized access had occurred but before the full scope was disclosed. While no formal wrongdoing has been established, the timing has intensified scrutiny. The resignation of the executive overseeing Korean operations has done little to quell political pressure. Founder Bom Kim, who controls roughly 70 per cent of voting rights through a dual-class structure, did not appear before lawmakers.  A class-action lawsuit in the US alleges that Coupang failed to disclose the breach promptly and understated its cybersecurity vulnerabilities in prior filings. The legal overhang adds another layer of uncertainty to a business already navigating slower consumer spending and intensifying competition. The competitive squeeze The timing of the breach is particularly awkward. South Korea’s e-commerce market is mature and fiercely contested, with rivals quick to exploit any sign of weakness. Reports indicate competitors have ramped up promotional efforts to lure disaffected shoppers. Coupang also faces potential regulatory changes that could loosen restrictions around ultra-fast delivery, eroding one of its core competitive advantages.  Still, the broader 2025 picture is not uniformly bleak.  Full-year revenue rose 14 per cent to $34.5 billion, and net income attributable to shareholders climbed to $208 million. Product Commerce adjusted EBITDA expanded 24 per cent to $2.5 billion for the year, evidence that the core engine remains profitable at scale. The faster-growing developing offerings segment, which includes newer bets such as Farfetch, Eats and its fintech arm Pay, posted 38 per cent revenue growth for the year, though losses widened.  For now, management insists that the slowdown represents a temporary disruption.  “We are seeing stabilization since the end of the fourth quarter, with a large number of customers reactivating their accounts and improving trends in customer growth,” Anand said. He also warned that growth and profitability would remain muted over the next few months. Further reading: Inside Coupang’s data breach: Disclosure gaps, leadership changes and scrutiny.