Key Highlights
- Sea Limited (SE) shares climbed 5.4% following a first-quarter revenue print of $7.1B, significantly surpassing the $6.45B Wall Street consensus
- Adjusted earnings per share of $0.67 fell short of the $0.76 analyst target
- Shopee delivered record gross merchandise value of $37.3B, representing 30.2% annual growth
- Garena achieved its strongest quarterly performance since 2021, with bookings increasing 20.1% to $931.4M
- Monee’s revenue jumped 57.8% to $1.2B, while its loan portfolio expanded 71.3% year-over-year
Sea Limited (SE) delivered its first-quarter 2026 financial results on May 12, triggering a 5.4% stock price surge despite falling short on bottom-line expectations. Investors focused on the company’s significant revenue outperformance rather than the earnings shortfall.
The Singapore-based technology conglomerate reported quarterly revenue of $7.1 billion, substantially exceeding analyst projections of $6.45 billion. This represents a robust 46.6% increase compared to the $4.8 billion generated during the same period last year. However, adjusted earnings per share landed at $0.67, missing the Street’s $0.76 expectation by nine cents.
Net income increased 6.7% to reach $438.2 million. Adjusted EBITDA across all operations rose 9.3% on an annual basis to $1.0 billion.
Chief Executive Officer Forrest Li emphasized the company’s strategy of making strategic investments to strengthen its competitive advantages while maintaining rigorous financial oversight.
Shopee Reaches All-Time High in GMV
The e-commerce platform Shopee achieved unprecedented results during the quarter. Gross merchandise value climbed to $37.3 billion, marking a 30.2% year-over-year expansion. Segment revenue increased 44.4% to reach $4.5 billion.
Core marketplace revenue—encompassing transaction-based fees and advertising income—surged 61.0% to $3.8 billion. This metric serves as the critical indicator for the platform’s long-term monetization trajectory.
Shopee’s adjusted EBITDA declined to $223.2 million from $264.4 million in the first quarter of 2025. Management explained this decrease resulted from intentional investment initiatives. The company reaffirmed its guidance for approximately 25% year-over-year GMV growth throughout 2026.
Total gross orders during the three-month period reached 4.0 billion, up 29.3% from the prior year. Li characterized it as another milestone quarter across all key performance indicators including GMV, order count, and revenue generation.
Garena Delivers Strongest Results in Three Years
The gaming division Garena experienced a remarkable resurgence. Bookings advanced 20.1% to $931.4 million, while revenue jumped 40.6% to $696.6 million.
Garena’s adjusted EBITDA expanded 25.2% to $573.6 million. The segment achieved an EBITDA margin of 61.6% relative to bookings, improving from 59.1% in the year-ago quarter.
Free Fire remained the primary revenue driver, with Arena of Valor achieving record-breaking performance levels. Quarterly active users totaled 666.5 million, essentially unchanged year-over-year, while paying users increased 12.4% to 72.6 million.
Monee, the company’s digital financial services division, maintained strong momentum. Revenue climbed 57.8% to $1.2 billion, with adjusted EBITDA rising 14% to $275.2 million. The consumer and small business loan portfolio reached $9.9 billion, reflecting 71.3% annual growth.
Non-performing loans remained stable at 1.1% of the total loan book, a metric management monitors carefully as lending operations scale.
Throughout the first quarter, Sea executed share repurchases totaling 1.8 million shares for $168.4 million under its $1.0 billion buyback authorization.
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