Surging Shopee sales help Sea beat revenue estimates

A signage of Shopee — Shopee has been working to improve user acquisition, traffic and engagement on its app. (Source: Reuters/Edgar Su)

By Deborah Sophia August 13, 2025

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Sea Ltd topped market estimates for quarterly revenue on Tuesday, powered by strong demand in its Shopee e-commerce business and its gaming division, sending the company’s US-listed shares nearly 19 per cent higher in early trading.

Shopee, a popular e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, is seeing strong consumer demand, thanks to the company’s efforts to offer competitive pricing and improved customer experience.

The company has been working to improve user acquisition, traffic and engagement on its Shopee app by introducing social elements like live-streaming and mini-games with redeemable coins and prizes.

Revenue from Sea’s e-commerce unit, which turned profitable last year, jumped 33.7 per cent to US$3.8 billion in the April-June quarter.

Gross merchandise value – a measure of the total value of products sold on the platform – rose 28 per cent to $29.8 billion. On a post-earnings call, executives said Shopee’s annual GMV growth would come in better than the company’s prior expectations for a 20 per cent increase.

“All three of our businesses have delivered robust, healthy growth, giving us greater confidence of delivering another great year,” CEO Forrest Li said.

“Our company has reached a stage where we can pursue growth opportunities while improving profitability.”

Meanwhile, revenue at Sea’s digital entertainment unit rose 28.4 per cent to $559.1 million. The segment houses online game developer and publisher Garena, widely known for its popular mobile shooter game “Free Fire”.

Garena reported a 17.8 per cent jump in paying users and a 23 per cent increase in bookings for the June quarter.

Bookings at Garena are now expected to grow more than 30 per cent this year, Li said.

Sea’s digital financial products arm, home to its Monee app that offers services such as payment processing and credit products, reported a 70 per cent rise in revenue to $882.8 million.

Singapore-based Sea reported a 38.2 per cent rise in total second-quarter revenue to $5.26 billion, beating estimates of $4.98 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.