We came across a bullish thesis on Coupang, Inc. (CPNG) on Substack by Brian Coughlin. In this article, we will summarize the bulls’ thesis on CPNG. Coupang, Inc. (CPNG)’s share was trading at $21.39 as of April 17. CPNG’s trailing and forward P/E were 267.38 and 16.08 respectively according to Yahoo Finance.
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Coupang, South Korea’s leading e-commerce platform, represents one of the most successful examples of how deep, early investments in infrastructure and customer experience can compound into lasting competitive advantage. Founded in 2010 by Harvard dropout Bom Kim, Coupang evolved from a Groupon-style deal site into a vertically integrated logistics and commerce powerhouse. Kim, who maintains significant control through a dual-class structure, has shaped Coupang into a consumer-centric juggernaut that now serves nearly half the country’s population. Through its Rocket WOW membership program — akin to Amazon Prime — 14 million households benefit from services like same-day Rocket Delivery, pre-dawn grocery deliveries via Rocket Fresh, and access to streaming and food delivery discounts. This widespread adoption reflects Coupang’s unmatched convenience, speed, and reliability, built on the back of its proprietary logistics network. Unlike its peers, Coupang controls every element of its supply chain, operating over 100 fulfillment centers with AI-powered systems and the nation’s largest logistics workforce. This full-stack infrastructure — difficult for rivals to replicate without years of capital-intensive investment — has become Coupang’s enduring moat, enabling superior economics and operational scale as the business matures.
Coupang’s operating philosophy centers around six principles: speed, selection, price, consistency, trust, and ease of use. These priorities are evident in its automation-driven warehouses, where vehicles reduce manual tasks by 65%, and in its sustainability initiatives — such as eliminating excess cardboard, reusing grocery bags, and recycling plastic in a closed-loop system. These enhancements not only boost margins but also solidify brand loyalty. Strategically, Coupang has shifted from relying solely on first-party sales to a blended model, with third-party merchants now contributing nearly 45% of gross merchandise volume. At the same time, its in-house advertising platform is beginning to monetize the platform’s immense consumer traffic. Coupang’s two primary segments — Product Commerce and Developing Offerings — position it to scale across multiple verticals. Its expansion efforts, after a failed Japanese entry, now focus on Taiwan and Singapore. Meanwhile, the $500 million acquisition of Farfetch, a global luxury e-commerce platform, underscores Coupang’s ambition to dominate in high-margin categories like luxury retail, especially in South Korea, one of the world’s top luxury markets per capita.