SINGAPORE, March 6, 2026, 22:44 SGT
- Sea’s U.S.-listed shares slipped early, coming right after an 8% bounce the previous day.
- Shopee’s guidance for slower GMV growth, along with a new spike in costs, is forcing investors to reassess.
- Sea outlined its growth strategy for 2026 and said it expects profits to remain steady.
Sea Ltd slipped roughly 2% Friday morning in New York, paring some of Thursday’s 8.2% pop as the market digested the company’s intentions for increased spending. Shares traded at $93.53, down 2.1% as of 9:43 a.m. ET.
The shift is significant: Sea’s been under pressure to show Shopee, its main revenue driver, can expand without margins unraveling again. The company’s performance is watched closely as a gauge for Southeast Asian e-commerce and digital lending, sectors known for fast-moving price battles and shifting promos.
Sea’s updated guidance has thrown that trade-off back into the spotlight. The company is projecting about 25% GMV growth for Shopee in 2026—a deceleration from last year’s rate—following a jump in fourth-quarter costs as incentives and logistics spending increased.
Sea posted a 38.4% jump in fourth-quarter revenue to $6.9 billion this week, with net income reaching $410.9 million. Chairman and CEO Forrest Li described 2025 as “a great year” for the company, adding that 2026 “will be a continuation” of its strategy, emphasizing “operational excellence.” https://cdn.sea.com/investor/4Q2025/JcKns4…
Shopee logged $36.7 billion in fourth-quarter GMV, a 28.6% jump, with gross orders hitting 4.0 billion, up 30.5%. Monee, Sea’s digital finance arm, turned in $1.1 billion in revenue, marking a 54.3% increase, while outstanding consumer and SME loans surged 80.4% to $9.2 billion. Over at Garena, bookings climbed 23.8% to $672.4 million.
Management’s pitch: they’re chasing both expansion and reliable income. Li set a target for Shopee’s annual GMV to climb “by around 25%” in 2026. He also pledged that full-year adjusted EBITDA — that’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, minus certain items — will be “no lower” than 2025 in dollar terms.
Still, it’s the costs that have investors uneasy. Operating expenses jumped 28.1% this quarter. Sea is shelling out to keep Shopee ahead as competitors step up their game in the region.
The competition is tangible. ByteDance’s TikTok Shop continues to ramp up its e-commerce push across Southeast Asia, with Alibaba-backed Lazada keeping a close eye on developments in several countries. In Brazil, Shopee is grabbing more share even as larger players still hold sway.
Other risks aren’t far off. Monee’s loan book is driving revenue up, but once the cycle shifts, credit losses could climb; Sea reported a marked jump in provisions for such losses this quarter. As for Garena, any real recovery hangs on whether it can keep players paying, in a business where just a handful of blockbuster games can tip the scales.
Sea disclosed it bought back 116,200 shares in the fourth quarter, spending $14.5 million as part of its $1 billion repurchase plan.
