Income Statement (FY2021-FY2025)
Note: FY2023 net income of $1.36B was inflated by a $776M deferred tax benefit (Korean NOL release).
Adjusted net income was ~$584M. FY2025 Q4 was hit by the December data breach ($1.17B voucher cost, Q4 op. income collapsed to $8M).
Margin Progression
The margin story is Coupang's central narrative. Gross margin expanded from 16% (FY2021) to 29.4% (FY2025),
a remarkable 1,340 bps improvement driven by scale efficiencies, 3P marketplace growth, WOW membership fees, and supplier leverage.
Operating margin remains thin (1.4%) because gains are reinvested into Developing Offerings (~$1B/yr losses).
Balance Sheet
Critical shift in FY2025: Coupang moved from $2.15B net cash to $799M net debt for the first time
since going public. Total debt nearly doubled to $7.1B. Current ratio compressed to 1.04x. The pace of leverage
increase warrants monitoring.
DuPont ROE Decomposition (FY2025 TTM)
Net Profit Margin0.6%
Asset Turnover1.94x
Equity Multiplier3.85x
= ROE4.5%
Margin is the binding constraint. Asset turnover is excellent (1.94x) for a company
with heavy physical infrastructure. But at 0.6% net margin, ROE is only 4.5%. The path to
acceptable ROE (15%+) runs entirely through margin expansion.
Working Capital Efficiency
3.8 days
Days Sales Outstanding
-56.6 days
Cash Conversion Cycle
Negative cash conversion cycle is a hallmark of elite retailers. Coupang collects from customers
instantly (3.8 days DSO), turns inventory in ~34 days, but delays supplier payments for ~94 days. The business
generates cash from operations before it needs to pay its bills. Only Amazon and Costco achieve comparable metrics.