Sea Ltd has reported impressive second-quarter results, with revenue reaching $5.3 billion, surpassing market expectations. The company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at $829 million, whilst net income soared to $414 million from $79.9 million in the same period last year.
The standout performer was Shopee, Sea’s e-commerce platform, which continued to benefit from its effective monetisation strategy, particularly in advertising. Gross merchandise value (GMV) increased to $29.8 billion, achieved without the heavy subsidies that characterised previous years.
Meanwhile, Sea’s fintech arm, Monee, demonstrated aggressive yet controlled expansion by doubling its loan book to $6.9 billion whilst maintaining a low level of bad loans. This balance between growth and prudence is rare in the fintech sector and is likely to enhance the company’s valuation.
Garena, Sea’s digital entertainment division, also showed a strong performance, largely due to the enduring popularity of its mobile game, Free Fire. This success has led to an upgrade in Sea’s full-year outlook.
Market Analyst Zavier Wong from eToro commented, “For investors, this quarter proves Sea is learning how to compound without overreaching.” He noted that whilst the tariff delay between the US and China may not directly impact Sea’s core markets, it provides a stable backdrop for the company’s strong execution.
Looking ahead, if Sea Ltd continues on this trajectory, the focus will shift from its ability to deliver profits to the potential scale of those profits.
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