Sea Limited Reports First Quarter 2026 Results

SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) (“Sea” or the “Company”) today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. In the first quarter of 2026, Sea’s GAAP revenue was US$7.1 billion, up 46.6% year-on-year. The Company also achieved gross profit of US$3.1 billion, up 40.7% year-on-year, and net income of US$438.2 million, up 6.7% year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA1 increased by 9.3% year-on-year to reach US$1.0 billion. “We have had a strong start to the year. 2026 is a year where we are leaning in to deepen our competitive moats, while maintaining financial discipline. Our strong revenue growth reflects the effectiveness of these investments, and we are already seeing unit economics start to improve for some of these initiatives. We believe this is the right approach to maximize long-term value, given the significant runway for growth still ahead of us in our markets,” said Forrest Li, Sea’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. On Shopee, he said, “Shopee delivered another record-setting quarter, achieving new highs in GMV, gross order volume, and revenue while maintaining financial discipline. Looking ahead, we are confident in the strength of our Shopee ecosystem and our ability to execute our strategies. We are on track to deliver our 2026 guidance: to grow Shopee’s annual GMV by around 25% year-on-year, with full year adjusted EBITDA no lower than 2025 in absolute dollar terms.” On Monee, Mr. Li said, “Monee continues to grow healthily while maintaining stable asset quality. Expansion into more user segments, off-Shopee use cases, and early markets like Brazil are giving us a much larger addressable opportunity across our portfolio. We remain confident that Monee will be a significant long-term profit contributor for Sea.” On Garena, Mr. Li said, “Garena had a stellar start to 2026, delivering its best quarter since 2021. This performance was driven by the continued strength of Free Fire, alongside a record contribution from Arena of Valor. The sustained success of both games demonstrates our unique ability to operate games well across genres, in multiple markets, and over long periods of time. We will remain focused on delivering fresh experiences and building the long-term value of our game portfolio.” On the growing role of AI, he said, “We have taken a practical, results-oriented approach, embedding AI into our operations to drive better outcomes for our users and greater efficiency across our platform. Across our ecosystem, we see the AI era as creating significant opportunities for a company like ours – with established scale, rich cross-vertical data, and deep local expertise.” First Quarter 2026 Business Highlights Shopee Gross orders totaled 4.0 billion for the quarter, increasing by 29.3% year-on-year. GMV was US$37.3 billion for the quarter, increasing by 30.2% year-on-year. GAAP revenue was US$5.1 billion, up 45.1% year-on-year. GAAP revenue included US$4.5 billion of GAAP marketplace revenue, which consists of core marketplace revenue and value-added services revenue and increased by 44.4% year-on-year. Core marketplace revenue, mainly consisting of transaction-based fees and advertising revenues, was up 61.0% year-on-year to US$3.8 billion. Value-added services revenue, mainly consisting of revenues related to logistics services, was down 8.1% year-on-year to US$691.6 million as a result of higher revenue net-off against shipping subsidies. Adjusted EBITDA1 was US$223.2 million, as compared to US$264.4 million for the first quarter of 2025. Monee GAAP revenue was US$1.2 billion, up 57.8% year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA1 was US$275.2 million, up 14.0% year-on-year. Monee revenue and operating income are primarily attributed to the consumer and SME credit business. As of March 31, 2026, consumer and SME loans principal outstanding was US$9.9 billion, up 71.3% year-on-year. This consists of US$8.8 billion on-book and US$1.1 billion off-book loans principal outstanding2. Non-performing loans past due by more than 90 days as a percentage of consumer and SME loans principal outstanding, which includes both on-book and off-book loans principal outstanding2, was 1.1%, stable quarter-on-quarter. Garena Bookings3 were US$931.4 million, up 20.1% year-on-year. GAAP revenue was US$696.6 million, up 40.6% year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA1 was US$573.6 million, up 25.2% year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA represented 61.6% of bookings for the first quarter of 2026, as compared to 59.1% for the first quarter of 2025. Quarterly active users were 666.5 million, as compared to 661.8 million for the first quarter of 2025. Quarterly paying users were 72.6 million, up 12.4% year-on-year. Paying user ratio was 10.9%, as compared to 9.8% for the first quarter of 2025. Average bookings per user were US$1.40, as compared to US$1.17 for the first quarter of 2025. Share Repurchase Program During the first quarter of 2026, pursuant to our US$1.0 billion share repurchase program, we have repurchased 1.8 million shares for an aggregate amount of US$168.4 million. 1 For a discussion of the use of non-GAAP financial measures, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”. 2 Off-book loans principal outstanding mainly refers to channeling arrangements, which is lending by other financial institutions on our platform. 3 GAAP revenue for Garena plus change in Garena’s deferred revenue. This operating metric is used as an approximation of cash spent by our users in the applicable period that is attributable to Garena. Unaudited Summary of Financial Results (Amounts are expressed in thousands of US dollars “$” except for per share data) For the Three Months ended March 31, 2025 2026 $ $ YOY% Revenue Service revenue 4,434,537 6,485,133 46.2% Sales of goods 406,563 612,356 50.6% 4,841,100 7,097,489 46.6% Cost of revenue Cost of service (2,231,118) (3,364,865) 50.8% Cost of goods sold (373,789) (587,042) 57.1% (2,604,907) (3,951,907) 51.7% Gross profit 2,236,193 3,145,582 40.7% Other operating income 34,901 27,600 (20.9%) Sales and marketing expenses (929,699) (1,414,192) 52.1% General and administrative expenses (307,189) (403,830) 31.5% Provision for credit losses (281,944) (465,504) 65.1% Research and development expenses (295,858) (296,669) 0.3% Total operating expenses (1,779,789) (2,552,595) 43.4% Operating income 456,404 592,987 29.9% Non-operating income, net 89,208 61,788 (30.7%) Income tax expense (136,315) (213,999) 57.0% Share of results of equity investees 1,528 (2,554) (267.1%) Net income 410,825 438,222 6.7% Earnings per share attributable to Sea Limited’s ordinary shareholders: Basic 0.68 0.70 2.9% Diluted 0.65 0.67 3.1% Change in deferred revenue of Garena 279,820 234,876 (16.1%) Adjusted EBITDA for Garena (1) 458,206 573,566 25.2% Adjusted EBITDA for Shopee (1) 264,417 223,174 (15.6%) Adjusted EBITDA for Monee (1) 241,439 275,243 14.0% Adjusted EBITDA for Other Services (1) (9,110) (28,136) 208.8% Unallocated expenses (2) (8,443) (9,554) 13.2% Total adjusted EBITDA (1) 946,509 1,034,293 9.3% (1) For a discussion of the use of non-GAAP financial measures, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”. (2) Unallocated expenses within total adjusted EBITDA are mainly related to general and corporate administrative costs such as professional fees and other miscellaneous items that are not allocated to segments. These expenses are excluded from segment results as they are not reviewed by the Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”) as part of segment performance. Three Months Ended March 31, 2026 Compared to Three Months Ended March 31, 2025 Revenue Our total GAAP revenue increased by 46.6% to US$7.1 billion in the first quarter of 2026 from US$4.8 billion in the first quarter of 2025. The table below sets forth our revenue breakdown. Amounts are expressed in thousands of US dollars (“$”). For the Three Months ended March 31, 2025 2026 YOY% $ $ Service revenue Shopee 3,118,931 4,503,110 44.4% Monee 787,117 1,241,782 57.8% Garena 495,589 696,564 40.6% Other Services(1) 32,900 43,677 32.8% Sales of goods 406,563 612,356 50.6% Total revenue 4,841,100 7,097,489 46.6% (1) Other services are a combination of multiple business activities that do not meet the quantitative threshold to qualify as reportable segments. Shopee: GAAP revenue increased by 44.4% to US$4.5 billion in the first quarter of 2026 from US$3.1 billion in the first quarter of 2025, primarily driven by the growth of GMV. Monee: GAAP revenue increased by 57.8% to US$1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2026 from US$787.1 million in the first quarter of 2025, primarily driven by the growth of our credit business as our lending activities increased. Garena: GAAP revenue increased by 40.6% to US$696.6 million in the first quarter of 2026 from US$495.6 million in the first quarter of 2025. This increase was primarily due to the increase in our active user base as well as the deepened paying user penetration. Sales of goods: GAAP revenue increased by 50.6% to US$612.4 million in the first quarter of 2026 from US$406.6 million in the first quarter of 2025. Cost of Revenue Our total cost of revenue increased by 51.7% to US$4.0 billion in the first quarter of 2026 from US$2.6 billion in the first quarter of 2025. The table below sets forth our cost of revenue breakdown. Amounts are expressed in thousands of US dollars (“$”). For the Three Months ended March 31, 2025 2026 YOY% $ $ Cost of service Shopee 1,934,323 2,992,543 54.7% Monee 106,433 142,527 33.9% Garena 181,004 216,470 19.6% Other Services(1) 9,358 13,325 42.4% Cost of goods sold 373,789 587,042 57.1% Total cost of revenue 2,604,907 3,951,907 51.7% (1) Other services are a combination of multiple business activities that do not meet the quantitative threshold to qualify as reportable segments. Shopee: Cost of revenue increased by 54.7% to US$3.0 billion in the first quarter of 2026 from US$1.9 billion in the first quarter of 2025, primarily driven by an increase in logistics costs as orders volume grew, as well as investment in our logistics capabilities for better user experience. Monee: Cost of revenue increased by 33.9% to US$142.5 million in the first quarter of 2026 from US$106.4 million in the first quarter of 2025, primarily driven by costs associated with our credit business, which include collection expenses and bank transaction fees, and server and hosting expenses. Garena: Cost of revenue increased by 19.6% to US$216.5 million in the first quarter of 2026 from US$181.0 million in the first quarter of 2025, primarily from third-party payment channel costs, which was largely in line with the increase in Garena revenue. Cost of goods sold: Cost of goods sold increased by 57.1% to US$587.0 million in the first quarter of 2026 from US$373.8 million in the first quarter of 2025. Other Operating Income Our other operating income was US$27.6 million and US$34.9 million in the first quarter of 2026 and 2025, respectively. Other operating income mainly consists of rebates from our logistics services providers. Sales and Marketing Expenses Our total sales and marketing expenses increased by 52.1% to US$1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2026 from US$929.7 million in the first quarter of 2025. The table below sets forth breakdown of the sales and marketing expenses of our major reporting segments. Amounts are expressed in thousands of US dollars (“$”). For the Three Months ended March 31, 2025 2026 YOY% Sales and Marketing Expenses $ $ Shopee 777,492 1,091,757 40.4% Monee 96,261 231,868 140.9% Garena 28,906 44,830 55.1% General and Administrative Expenses Our general and administrative expenses increased by 31.5% to US$403.8 million in the first quarter of 2026 from US$307.2 million in the first quarter of 2025. Provision for Credit Losses Our provision for credit losses increased by 65.1% to US$465.5 million in the first quarter of 2026 from US$281.9 million in the first quarter of 2025. Research and Development Expenses Our research and development expenses were US$296.7 million in the first quarter of 2026, as compared to US$295.9 million in the first quarter of 2025, relatively flat year-on-year. Non-operating Income or Losses, Net Non-operating income or losses mainly consist of interest income, interest expense, investment gain (loss), foreign exchange gain (loss) and gain (loss) on debt extinguishment. We recorded a net non-operating income of US$61.8 million in the first quarter of 2026, as compared to a net non-operating income of US$89.2 million in the first quarter of 2025. The non-operating income in the first quarter of 2026 was primarily due to interest income of US$67.1 million. Income Tax Expense We had a net income tax expense of US$214.0 million and US$136.3 million in the first quarter of 2026 and 2025, respectively. Net Income or Loss As a result of the foregoing, our net income increased by 6.7% to US$438.2 million in the first quarter of 2026 from US$410.8 million in the first quarter of 2025. Basic and Diluted Earnings or Loss Per Share Attributable to Sea Limited’s Ordinary Shareholders Basic earnings per share attributable to Sea Limited’s ordinary shareholders was US$0.70 in the first quarter of 2026, compared to basic earnings per share attributable to Sea Limited’s ordinary shareholders of US$0.68 in the first quarter of 2025. Diluted earnings per share attributable to Sea Limited’s ordinary shareholders was US$0.67 in the first quarter of 2026, compared to diluted earnings per share attributable to Sea Limited’s ordinary shareholders of US$0.65 in the first quarter of 2025. Webcast and Conference Call Information The Company’s management will host a conference call today to review Sea’s business and financial performance. Details of the conference call and webcast are as follows: Date and time: 7:30 AM U.S. Eastern Time on May 12, 2026 7:30 PM Singapore / Hong Kong Time on May 12, 2026 Webcast link: https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/902549222 A replay of the conference call will be available at the Company’s investor relations website (www.sea.com/investor/home). An archived webcast will be available at the same link above. About Sea Limited Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) is a global technology company founded in Singapore in 2009. Its mission is to better the lives of consumers and small businesses with technology. Sea operates three core businesses across e-commerce, digital financial services, and digital entertainment, known as Shopee, Monee, and Garena respectively. Shopee is the largest e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan and is a leading e-commerce platform in Brazil. Monee is a leading digital financial services provider in Southeast Asia with a growing presence in Latin America. Garena is a leading global online games developer and publisher. Forward-Looking StatementsRead the full story here

Sea Limited Reports First Quarter 2026 Results

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