Coupang, a leading e-commerce enterprise in South Korea, has significantly advanced its market position by emulating and enhancing Amazon's successful strategies. The company's vertically integrated logistics network ensures exceptionally fast delivery, a key differentiator in the competitive South Korean retail landscape. Furthermore, its 'Rocket Wow' subscription service has cultivated a loyal customer base, providing a consistent stream of high-margin revenue. This strong domestic foundation is now serving as a springboard for Coupang's international expansion, with promising results emerging from its operations in Taiwan. These strategic moves, combined with a seemingly undervalued stock price, present an attractive opportunity for long-term investors.
Coupang's Dominance in South Korea's E-commerce Landscape
Coupang has emerged as a dominant force in South Korea's online retail sector, drawing parallels to Amazon's success in the West. The company's core strength lies in its sophisticated, vertically integrated delivery infrastructure, which includes advanced fulfillment centers and a dedicated fleet of delivery vehicles. This enables Coupang to offer unparalleled delivery speeds, with many orders, including fresh groceries, arriving on the same day or even within hours. Notably, orders placed by midnight are typically delivered by 7 a.m. the following day, often surpassing the delivery efficiency of even Amazon's network. This commitment to speed and reliability has solidified Coupang's position as a leader in the South Korean market, contributing to its substantial trailing revenue of $30 billion.
A crucial component of Coupang's success is its subscription service, 'Rocket Wow,' which provides members with free shipping, access to video streaming, discounts on food delivery, and other personalized offers. Despite a recent 58% increase in monthly subscription fees, customer engagement has remained robust, with active customer growth increasing by 10% year-over-year to 23.9 million. While not all shoppers are Rocket Wow members, estimates suggest that over 10 million individuals in South Korea subscribe to the service. This translates into a highly lucrative recurring revenue stream, generating an estimated $684 million annually from subscriptions alone. The strong retention and continued growth of Rocket Wow subscribers underscore the immense value customers perceive in Coupang's comprehensive service offerings, highlighting the effectiveness of its integrated business model.
Global Aspirations and Investment Appeal
Historically, one of the perceived limitations for Coupang has been the relatively confined size of the South Korean market, with its population of 52 million. This demographic constraint had raised questions about the company's long-term growth potential and its ability to achieve a scale comparable to that of global e-commerce giants like Amazon. Recognizing this, Coupang has strategically embarked on international expansion, with Taiwan serving as its initial foray into new markets. The company is actively replicating its successful integrated e-commerce model in Taiwan, and early indicators are highly encouraging. Revenue in Taiwan has shown impressive quarter-over-quarter growth, accelerating throughout 2025 and achieving an annual growth rate exceeding 100%.
While the current revenue base in Taiwan is still modest, its rapid growth demonstrates the potential universal appeal and adaptability of Coupang's business model beyond South Korea. This international expansion opens up a significantly larger addressable market for the company, suggesting ample room for sustained growth throughout the decade. From an investment perspective, despite its current market capitalization of $52 billion being considerably smaller than Amazon's, Coupang presents an attractive proposition. With annual revenue reaching $32.3 billion and growing at a healthy 19% year-over-year on a foreign-currency-neutral basis, the company is projected to approach $40 billion in revenue within the next 12 months. Furthermore, Coupang's core commerce operations in South Korea demonstrate a healthy 9% profit margin, indicating significant underlying profitability. As the company continues to mature and integrate additional revenue streams from advertising and Rocket Wow subscriptions, its profit margin is expected to expand further, potentially reaching 10% or more. This projected earnings power, combined with a modest price-to-earnings ratio based on current market capitalization, positions Coupang as a compelling long-term investment for those seeking growth in the e-commerce sector.
