Sea Ltd
Q1 2026 Earnings
Market Reaction
S&P 500 over the same 30 days: +0.48%.
Did SE Beat Earnings? Q1 2026 Results
Sea Limited delivered a mixed but broadly impressive Q1 2026, posting revenue of $7.10 billion, up 46.6% year-on-year and well ahead of the $6.40 billion consensus, while earnings per share of $0.67 fell short of the $0.77 estimate by 13.46% as aggressive reinvestment weighed on the bottom line. The gap between the top- and bottom-line stories traces directly to deliberate spending, with sales and marketing expenses surging 52.1% to $1.41 billion and provisions for credit losses jumping 65.1% to $465.50 million as the Monee lending book expanded aggressively to $9.90 billion in loans outstanding. Shopee powered the revenue beat with GMV of $37.30 billion and gross orders of 4.0 billion, while Garena added a notable contribution of $696.56 million in revenue, up 40.6%. Net income attributable to shareholders reached $427.94 million, modest growth constrained by the investment posture management described as deepening competitive moats. Looking ahead, Sea reiterated guidance for roughly 25% Shopee GMV growth in 2026 and full-year adjusted EBITDA at least matching 2025 levels, even as several insiders executed pre-arranged share sales in recent weeks.
- Shopee GMV growth of 30.2% YoY to US$37.3 billion driving record revenue
- Core marketplace revenue surged 61.0% on transaction-based fees and advertising growth
- Gross orders totaled 4.0 billion, up 29.3% YoY
- Monee consumer and SME loans principal outstanding grew 71.3% YoY to US$9.9 billion
- Garena paying user penetration improved to 10.9% from 9.8% with average bookings per user rising to US$1.40
- Free Fire continued strength alongside record contribution from Arena of Valor
- Garena quarterly active users grew to 666.5 million from 661.8 million
“We have had a strong start to the year. 2026 is a year where we are leaning in to deepen our competitive moats, while maintaining financial discipline. Our strong revenue growth reflects the effectiveness of these investments, and we are already seeing unit economics start to improve for some of these initiatives. We believe this is the right approach to maximize long-term value, given the significant runway for growth still ahead of us in our markets.”
Sea CEO, on the earnings call
Forward Guidance & Outlook
Sea is on track to deliver its 2026 guidance: Shopee annual GMV growth of around 25% year-on-year, with full year adjusted EBITDA no lower than 2025 in absolute dollar terms. Management describes 2026 as a year of leaning in to deepen competitive moats while maintaining financial discipline, with significant runway for growth still ahead. Monee is expected to be a significant long-term profit contributor as it expands into more user segments, off-Shopee use cases, and early markets like Brazil. Garena will remain focused on delivering fresh experiences and building long-term value of its game portfolio.
SE YoY Financials
SE Revenue by Segment
Figures from SEC filings and company reports. Not investment advice.