The Positives
+ Positive net income for the first time, driven by focus on improving efficiencies. SE announced a major milestone of US$423mn net income for the first time in a quarter, a ~US$1bn improvement from a year ago. This improvement was supported by several factors: 1) revenue growth of 7% YoY led by Shopee; 2) 8% YoY decrease in cost of revenue driven by improvements in logistics costs; 3) 61% YoY cut in sales & marketing expenses as the company looks to further optimize its expenses.
+ Shopee profitable for first time even as GMV and gross orders declined. SE’s e-commerce business, Shopee, announced 4Q22 operating income/adj. EBITDA (excl. share-based compensation) of US$109mn, and US$196mn, respectively, marking its first profitable quarter. Operating income was driven by 32% YoY growth in revenue due to higher take rates (>10%), a 55% YoY reduction in sales & marketing expenses, and more efficient logistics. This comes even as growth in GMV and gross orders moderated due to continued weakness in online consumption across most markets.
The Negative
– Garena continues to weaken due to moderating trends in gaming. Once regarded as SE’s most stable and profitable business, moderating trends in gaming and a download ban of its most popular game, Free Fire, in India have continued to hurt Garena. Both Quarterly Active Users (QAU), and Quarterly Paying Users (QPU) were down 26%/44% YoY as a result. Garena’s revenue decline also continued to accelerate, down 33% in 4Q22 to US$949mn. Operating income for the quarter was also down 53% YoY to US$400mn – 42% operating margin.
Jonathan covers the US technology sector focusing on internet companies. Formerly a national and professional athlete, he graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences.