Sea Ltd.- Significant runway ahead

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Positives
+ Shopee growth remains healthy. GMV grew 28% YoY to US$38.3bn, marking eight
consecutive quarters of sequential growth, supported by strong user acquisition and
engagement (monthly active buyers +18% YoY, new active buyers +35% YoY, and purchase
frequency +8% YoY). Advertising remains a driver of growth (ad revenue +70% YoY and ad
take rate +90 bps YoY). Investments in logistics, fulfilment, ShopeeVIP and content are gaining
scale (fulfilment volume grew +20% QoQ, VIP membership reached +25% QoQ, and
livestream/short-video orders grew +50% YoY). Shopee maintained its 25% FY26 GMV
growth.

+ Refined credit-risk model helps unlock further Monee expansion. Monee further enhances
its credit-risk models by combining transactional data with a growing pool of external data,
enabling it to better assess users with limited history. Its latest models improved approval
rates by 10% while maintaining similar risk levels, and AI-based income document verification
reduced review time by 95%. These improvements allow Monee to aggressively expand its
borrower base. Its loan book reached US$11.1bn (+52% YoY) while the 90-day NPL ratio
remains low at 1.0%. Monee added 5.3mn first-time borrowers during the quarter and active
credit users grew 34% YoY to 40mn, providing further runway to expand both within and
beyond the Shopee ecosystem.

 

Sea Ltd.- 2026 an investment year

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Positives
+ Aggressive investment pushing Shopee expansion. Shopee continued delivering strong
growth (1Q26 GMV +30% YoY, gross orders +29% YoY) as management aggressively ramps up
investments in FY26, with Sales & Marketing expenses rising +52% YoY (vs. +30% YoY in both
3Q25 and 4Q25 despite similar GMV growth). Shopee continues to deepen ecosystem
stickiness through content-commerce initiatives, with ShopeeVIP subscribers +40% QoQ (20%
of Asia GMV), live-streaming and short-video orders +50% YoY (>25% of SEA physical orders),
and YouTube-driven orders more than doubling YoY. Logistics capabilities also continued to
improve, with stronger adoption of instant delivery. Management maintained its FY26e
guidance of 25% GMV growth and reiterated its continued investments in fulfilment, logistics,
and the VIP ecosystem to further strengthen Shopee’s long-term competitive moat.
+ Strong Monee growth with stable NPLs. Loan principal outstanding grew +71% YoY to
US$9.9bn, supported by stronger borrower acquisition, deeper user engagement and
expansion into broader credit use cases. Monee is expanding into more affluent borrowers
with higher credit limits and longer loan tenures. Off-Shopee lending penetration also
continues to scale, with Monee pushing for higher-ticket consumption scenarios. The 90-day
NPL ratio remained stable at 1.1%, close to high-quality traditional bank levels. We believe
Monee’s key competitive advantage continues to lie in its rich e-commerce ecosystem data,
which enables more effective underwriting, better risk assessment and lower customer
acquisition costs compared to many standalone fintech lenders. (DBS: 1.1%, Affirm: 2-3%)

+ Garena delivered its strongest quarter since FY21. Garena 1Q26 revenue +41% YoY, with
bookings growing +20% YoY, driven by continued strength in Free Fire alongside record
contribution from Arena of Valor. Free Fire’s Jujutsu Kaisen collaboration generated over 700
million official content views, demonstrating Garena’s continued ability to execute successful
global IP partnerships and sustain user engagement through localised content strategies. Arena
of Valor also achieved record quarterly bookings in its 10th year of operation, with management
explicitly stating the recovery is “not a one-off” and expecting 2026 to be a record year for the
franchise.

Sea Ltd.- Investment strengthens Shopee’s competitiveness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Positives
+ Strong Shopee momentum to continue. Shopee continued strong growth (4Q25 GMV +
29% YoY, gross orders +30% YoY), supported by stronger monetisation as ad revenue + 70%
YoY (ad-paying sellers +20% YoY and average ad spend +45% YoY). Shopee continues to
strengthen its ecosystem through logistics scale, higher user engagement (monthly active
buyers +15% YoY), and initiatives such as Shopee VIP membership (subscribers doubling in
just one quarter) and a growing content ecosystem (orders driven by YouTube content >3x
YoY). Management expects momentum to continue, guiding 25% GMV growth in FY26e,
supported by further investments in fulfilment, logistics and user engagement to deepen
Shopee’s long-term competitive moat.

+ Strong Monee growth with stable NPLs. Loan principal +80% YoY to US$9.2bn, driven by
stronger user acquisition, deeper engagement, and broader credit use cases. Active credit
users reached +40% YoY after shifting from a whitelist model to an “all-can-apply” approach.
Engagement also improved, with average loan outstanding per user up 27% YoY as SE offered
higher limits and longer tenures to users with stronger credit histories. In addition, off-Shopee
SPayLater loans + 300% YoY, accounting for >15% of the total SPayLater portfolio (around 30%
in Malaysia), reflecting expansion beyond the Shopee ecosystem into offline consumption
scenarios. The 90-day NPL ratio remains stable at 1.1%, supported by improved underwriting
models that leverage ecosystem data and AI. Monee remains a key profit driver, with FY25
adjusted EBITDA exceeding US$1bn, now surpassing Shopee and second to Garena.

+ Garena remains durable and monetizable at scale. FY25 bookings +37% YoY to US$2.9bn.
Management highlighted two consecutive years of >30% YoY bookings growth for Free Fire,
strong content execution via major IP collaborations, and encouraging traction from newer titles
such as EA SPORTS FC Mobile, supporting confidence that gaming can remain a meaningful profit
pillar into FY26. (50% of group EBITDA in FY25 vs. 63% in FY24)

Sea Ltd.- All rounded growth continues

 

Sea Ltd.- Profitability surge and Garena slowdown

Sea Ltd. – Outperformance likely to continue, but valuations stretched

Recommendation: NEUTRAL (Downgraded) , Last done: US$162.72, TP: US$160, Analyst: Helena Wang

Sea Ltd. – Further growth ahead

Sea Ltd. – Growth momentum continues

Sea Ltd. – High growth across all businesses

 

Sea Ltd. – Raised Shopee Guidance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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