E-Commerce Growth Lifted This Tech Giant’s Earnings, and Its Stock Jumped 12%

Key Takeaways

• A 40% jump in sales for Singapore’s Shopee helped its parent Sea Limited post strong earnings.
• CEO Forrest Li said Shopee will become adjusted EBITDA-positive starting in the third quarter.
• Sea’s gaming and financial services businesses also saw double-digit growth.
• The company’s U.S.-traded shares jumped 12% on Tuesday, boosting its year-to-date gain to 85%.

Shares of Sea Limited (SE), the Singapore tech conglomerate that runs online shopping website Shopee, soared Tuesday after the company reported double-digit revenue growth in all its business segments for the second quarter.

Sea posted second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $0.54, with revenue up 23.0% to $3.8 billion. Both exceeded estimates. 

The biggest driver of revenue growth was e-commerce sales that soared 40% to $2.5 billion. Shopee has a significant presence in South Asia, Taiwan and Latin America.

CEO Forrest Li said because of its strong first half results, Sea expects Shopee’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to be positive starting in the third quarter. The company is also is raising its full-year outlook for gross merchandise value (GMV) to mid-20% growth.

Gaming, Financial Units Also Show Strong Growth

Sea also owns Garena, the gaming business behind popular game Free Fire and other digital entertainment such as publishing and e-sports. SeaMoney, is the company’s digital finance subsidiary offering mobile wallets and process payments in Southeast Asia and Brazil.

Digital financial revenue increased 21.4% to $519.3 million, while digital entertainment revenue climbed 21.1% to $536.8 million.

“Garena delivered a strong quarter, with more than 20% year-on-year growth in bookings, mainly contributed by Free Fire,” said Mr. Li, adding that the game had more than 100 million active players.

Sea Limited’s American Depositary Shares rose 11.9% to finish Tuesday’s session at $74.85. The stock has risen 85% since the beginning of the year.

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