While Coupang, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is showing solid growth despite sluggish domestic demand, stock prices continue to be strong. According to the New York Stock Exchange on the 11th, Coupang's stock price was $30.08 as of the close of the day, jumping more than 50% in three months from the annual low of $19.76 recorded in early April this year. Since announcing its first-quarter results on May 8, it has been on the rise, rising 17.4% for two months.

Coupang recorded its largest quarterly sales ever in the first quarter of this year, with sales increasing 11.2% year-on-year. Operating profit rose 285% during the period, and net profit turned into a surplus. In particular, growth potential was noticeable in the domestic e-commerce industry as product commerce sales rose 16% amid sluggish other domestic retailers. In addition, despite the increase in Wow membership fees last year, the number of active customers in the quarter (customers who purchased the product at least once in the quarter) continued to increase, demonstrating strong customer loyalty. Expectations for the expansion of new businesses were also reflected. Coupang increased its product selection range by 500% in the Taiwanese market in the first quarter and launched its paid service, Wow Membership.

In addition, Coupang announced earlier this month that it will enter the cloud computing market in earnest from its distribution and logistics business, drawing attention to artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks. This is due to the expectation that it can transform from e-commerce into technology by starting with e-commerce like Amazon and building AI cloud services. In particular, while the government has announced that it will invest in securing graphics processing units (GPUs) and creating AI data aggregation clusters, it is evaluated that policy benefits are expected as such plans are presented. Mottleful, an investment media outlet, analyzed on the 13th that Coupang has become an essential stock in the technology sector as it has been on the rise of AI innovation due to its entry into the cloud computing market.

However, since Coupang announced its entry into the cloud computing business on the 2nd, the stock price has been sideways, showing no clear upward trend.

[Reporter Moon Ga Young]