Eric Cha

Eric Cha inquired about a timeline for Taiwan's business to achieve unit economics positive, requesting comparisons to Korea's KPIs like market share, merchandise margin, and membership numbers. He also asked for an update on the potential for operating leverage from tech investments and its timing.

Answer

CEO Bom Kim stated that Taiwan is focused on building customer experience and long-term scalability, with profitability being a function of scale and operational leverage, showing encouraging signs like triple-digit revenue growth and strong retention. CFO Gaurav Anand clarified that cybersecurity spend remains high, but tech investments are foundational with fixed costs, expecting operating leverage as the business scales over time, without a structural change in OG&A spend.

Eric Cha inquired about the timeline for Taiwan's business to achieve unit economics positive, requesting comparisons to Korea's KPIs (market shares, merchandise margin, membership numbers). He also asked for an update on tech investment and potential operating leverage timing.

Answer

Founder and CEO Bom Kim stated that Taiwan is focused on building the best customer experience and long-term scalability, with profitability being a function of scale and operational leverage. He highlighted encouraging signs like 75% next-day delivery volume without meaningful cost increases, triple-digit revenue growth, and strong customer retention. CFO Gaurav Anand added that cybersecurity spend will be prioritized within existing tech investment levels, not expecting a structural change in OG&A, and anticipates operating leverage from foundational tech investments as the business scales over time.

Eric Cha from Goldman Sachs inquired about the impact of the recent Naver Curly partnership on Coupang's Fresh GMV and other key metrics, and also asked about potential Q4 headwinds for product commerce GMV due to the holiday timing shift that benefited Q3.

Answer

CEO Bom Kim stated that Coupang's Fresh business continues its strong trajectory, growing well above the overall business due to investments in selection, delivery speed, low prices, and free shipping. CFO Gaurav Anand clarified that the Chuseok holiday timing shift was largely a dynamic between Q3 and Q4, and the company expects full-year consolidated growth rates to remain consistent with the 20% constant currency guidance.

Eric Cha inquired about the impact of the recent Naver-Curly partnership on Coupang's Fresh GMV and other related metrics. He also asked if the Q3 product commerce GMV tailwind from holiday timing would create a Q4 headwind, and its potential magnitude.

Answer

CEO Bom Kim stated that Fresh's strong trajectory continues, with growth well above the overall business, driven by years of investment in selection, delivery, and pricing. CFO Gaurav Anand clarified that the Chuseok holiday timing was a dynamic shift between Q3 and Q4, not impacting underlying demand, and full-year consolidated growth guidance of ~20% constant currency remains unchanged.

Eric Cha from The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. asked if the increased investment in Developing Offerings is expected to peak in 2025 and requested color on the current gross profit margin and unit economics in Taiwan.

Answer

CEO Bom Kim expressed rising conviction in Taiwan, noting its growth trajectory and customer response are similar to Korea's early years, driven primarily by repeat customers. CFO Gaurav Anand stated that the revised investment guidance for Developing Offerings is for the current year only, and it is too early to comment on future levels. However, he reiterated that the company's overall guidance for consolidated year-over-year margin increases still holds.

Eric Cha from The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. questioned if the investment in Developing Offerings would peak in 2025 or continue to increase, driven by Taiwan, and asked for color on Taiwan's current gross profit margin and unit economics.

Answer

CEO Bom Kim expressed high and rising conviction in Taiwan, noting its growth trajectory is similar to early-stage Korea and is primarily fueled by repeat customers. CFO Gaurav Anand stated that it is too early to provide guidance on investment levels beyond the current year but reiterated that consolidated margins are still expected to increase year-over-year. The company does not break out profitability for individual Developing Offerings.