A Once-in-a-Decade Buying Opportunity for This Dominant Growth Stock

It can be frustrating to watch a stock you own flounder while the rest of the market seems to climb to new heights every day. But if the business is continually growing in value, patience will eventually be rewarded for those who hold it over the long term.

This describes Coupang (NYSE: CPNG) perfectly. The stock is down 67% from its initial public offering (IPO) a little over five years ago and has suffered further pain in recent months due to a data leak scandal. At the same time, revenue is up close to 200% cumulatively since its IPO.

A combination like this makes Coupang a once-in-a-decade buying opportunity. Here's why investors should consider adding the stock to their portfolios today.

The other side of a data leak scandal

Coupang sold stock in its 2021 IPO at $35 a share and then saw it jump to $63.50 on its first day of trading. It then fell to just above $10 in the 2022 bear market. All the while, revenue for its e-commerce and online subscription ecosystem kept compounding to new heights.

The stock had been recovering over the last few years and peaked above $30 in late 2025. But then a new headwind emerged: a data leak scandal in late 2025. Coupang's customer data was leaked by a rogue former employee, leading to outrage in South Korea that spilled over into the government's trade negotiations with the United States.

A small boycott of Coupang's platform led to a slight deceleration in active customers from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026. On the Q1 conference call, management said it had already recovered 80% of these lost customers by the end of April, meaning this was barely a two-quarter speed bump. Total revenue grew 8% year over year last quarter to $8.5 billion, with an expectation for acceleration later this year once the data leak scandal is fully over.

Coupang stock remains down around 50% from its 2025 high, sitting at about $16.50 today.

Replicating the business worldwide

South Korea should remain a solid growth driver for Coupang. It doesn't hurt that the country's economy is booming because of its specialty in memory chips for the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. Expect durable double-digit growth from continued e-commerce expansion in the region.

More explosive growth may come from its new expansion into Taiwan. The country has a population of 23 million, is wealthy, and also serves as a hub for AI chip production. Coupang's new business in Taiwan is at a "hypergrowth rate," according to management on the conference call, but it is currently losing a lot of money. Over the next few years, this segment should continue to scale and eventually generate billions, if not over $10 billion, in revenue for Coupang.

CPNG EBIT Margin (TTM) data by YCharts

Why Coupang stock is incredibly cheap

The steady growth of Coupang's South Korean e-commerce marketplace and the rapid expansion in Taiwan should assure double-digit revenue growth in the years ahead, not to mention its ancillary businesses, such as food delivery, rapid delivery, financial technology services, and a new intelligent cloud business. These rising tides can grow Coupang's revenue from $35 billion over the last 12 months to $70 billion in five years.

A larger question is what profit margins will be five years from now. Coupang operates today at close to breakeven, making it difficult to value on a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) basis. What we do know is that the core South Korean e-commerce segment had an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of 5%, with Q4 coming in at 7.7% before the data leak scandal.

This indicates the potential for significant consolidated operating leverage in the years ahead as new projects, such as Taiwan, begin to mature. If Coupang can grow its revenue to $70 billion with a 10% profit margin, that is $7 billion in annual earnings power.

Coupang's market value today is just under $30 billion. For investors with the patience to hold for five years, Coupang looks like a bargain stock trading at under 5x forward earnings based on these growth assumptions.

Brett Schafer has positions in Coupang. The Motley Fool recommends Coupang. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.