Shopee Owner Sea's Quarterly Profit Rises, Beating Expectations -- Update
SE
Published on 05/12/2026 at 07:46 am EDT
By Kimberley Kao
Sea Ltd., one of Southeast Asia's largest companies by market capitalization, posted a rise in first-quarter profit as revenue grew across its business.
The consumer-internet giant behind e-commerce platform Shopee said Tuesday that net profit increased 6.7% to $438.2 million for the first three months of the year. That beat a Visible Alpha consensus estimate for $412.9 million.
Nasdaq-listed Sea's revenue also topped market views, climbing 47% from a year earlier to $7.10 billion.
The strong revenue growth reflects the effectiveness of investments in growth-driving initiatives, said Forrest Li, Sea's chairman and chief executive.
Shares of Sea surged 11% in premarket trading following the results.
The company's top line was buoyed by the performance of Shopee, the biggest online-shopping provider in Southeast Asia and generator of more than two-thirds of Sea's revenue.
The platform's gross merchandise value--a measure of sales--rose 30% during the quarter, while gross order volume jumped 29%. However, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell 15.5%.
Shopee is in a reinvestment phase, prioritizing infrastructure build-out, logistics capability, and targeted user programs over short-term profitability, Daiwa Capital Markets analysts said in a recent report.
Sea flagged last quarter that it would prioritize growth and invest in logistics.
Li said Tuesday that Shopee remains on track to meet 2026 guidance of around 25% growth in GMV. Adjusted earnings are expected to be roughly stable from 2025 in absolute dollar terms.
Sea's other businesses posted solid quarterly revenue results too, signaling that efforts to diversify growth drivers are starting to pay off.
Monee, its digital financial services arm, remained the fastest-growing business with a 58% rise in revenue.
"We remain confident that Monee will be a significant long-term profit contributor for Sea," Li said.
Sea's gaming division, Garena, recorded a 20% rise in bookings--a measure of revenue--for the three months ended March.
"2026 is a year where we are leaning in to deepen our competitive moats, while maintaining financial discipline," Li said.
Write to Kimberley Kao at [email protected]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-12-26 0745ET