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Shopee is deepening its monetization through advertising, logistics, and more.
Monee is a hidden growth engine with rising profits.
Garena has quietly rebounded with a 51% bookings growth last quarter.
Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) has rebuilt its business.
After soaring in the first year of the pandemic and reaching an all-time high of $372.70 per share in late 2021, the stock would go on to plunge 91% from its peak just two years later.
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Today, Sea is enjoying a steady rebound as it has emerged from the volatility of the past few years as a leaner, more disciplined, and profitable enterprise. Its three core segments -- Shopee (e-commerce), Monee (fintech), and Garena (gaming) -- are now all generating positive operating income.
For long-term investors, the key focus is no longer the recovery but what comes next. The good news is that Sea's growth story isn't over. In fact, its next phase of growth may be more sustainable than the last. Here are three key ways the business could continue expanding in the years ahead.
Image source: Getty Images.
Shopee remains Sea's most important business. It dominates Southeast Asia's e-commerce landscape, holding a 48% market share in this region. But even at scale, Shopee still has significant room to grow -- not by chasing more users but by capturing more value per transaction.
Here are some levers Sea is likely to pull to improve its take rate:
Importantly, Shopee is no longer chasing growth at any cost. The focus has shifted toward improving efficiency, monetization, and margin quality -- even as newer players like TikTok Shop and Temu try to win market share through subsidies.
Shopee's leadership gives it room to increase monetization without losing users. If it can continue to expand its take rate while defending its market position, Shopee could become Sea's most reliable source of profit growth in the coming years.
Sea's fintech arm, now branded as Monee, is quickly growing into a powerful profit contributor.
What began as a payment solution for the Garena gaming division has evolved into one of Southeast Asia's leading digital financial services providers, offering e-wallets, online and offline payments, digital banking, lending, and more.
Monee's digital lending business has been growing rapidly in recent years as it leverages Shopee's ecosystem. To put the scale of this business into perspective, Monee had over 28 million active borrowers and $5.8 billion in outstanding loans in the first quarter of 2025, generating $787 million in revenue and $241 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA).
Unlike stand-alone fintechs, Monee doesn't need to spend aggressively on user acquisition. Shopee provides the user base and data for loan underwriting -- a strategic advantage helping this younger business to scale and manage risks.
Looking ahead, Monee is expanding into adjacent verticals like buy now, pay later; insurance; small and medium enterprise (SME) lending; and investments. That positions it to become another essential pillar in Sea's growing digital ecosystem.
Garena, once Sea's flagship business, had experienced a steady decline for years as gamer engagement came down from the peak levels seen during the pandemic boom. But in recent quarters, the segment has shown signs of stability.
In the first quarter of 2025, bookings jumped 51% year over year to $775 million, and adjusted EBITDA rose 57% to $458 million. Its core title, Free Fire, remains the No. 1 mobile battle royale game globally.
To sustain Garena's growth momentum, the company is investing in content refreshes, esports events, and new monetization tools to extend Free Fire's lifecycle. For instance, Free Fire's collaboration with Naruto Shippuden helped it keep average daily active users in the first quarter of 2025 close to the peak achieved during the pandemic.
Beyond Free Fire, Garena is cautiously developing new games and partnering with major publishers. Recent launches like Arena of Valor, EA Sports FC Online, and Call of Duty: Mobile show it still has a major role to play in the gaming industry. It's also exploring a reentry into India, potentially unlocking a significant growth opportunity.
Though much of the hype around Sea has fizzled out following its steep sell-off, the stock is on its way back up, this time with a multi-engine business and improving fundamentals.
Shopee is monetizing more efficiently, while Monee scales and Garena begins to rebound. The next phase may not be flashy, but if management's strong execution holds, Sea stock still has room to run.
Growth investors should keep Sea on their radar.
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Lawrence Nga has positions in Sea Limited. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Sea Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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