Sea Limited Misses Q3 Estimates: Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?

Sea Limited’s SE latest results highlight why investors should hold the stock despite its third-quarter earnings miss. The company delivered strong top-line expansion, with revenues rising 38.3% year over year, driven by sustained Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) growth in both its e-commerce and digital financial services segments. However, this momentum did not translate to the bottom line. Earnings came in at 78 cents per share, missing the consensus estimate by 24.27%.

Despite this near-term earnings softness, Sea Limited’s long-term growth prospects remain intact. The company continues to benefit from solid momentum across its three core businesses, including Shopee (e-commerce), Monee (digital financial services, earlier known as SeaMoney) and Garena (digital entertainment). These divisions are collectively driving user growth, deeper engagement and expanding monetization, laying the foundation for stronger performance ahead.

Strong Growth Across Segments Boosts Prospects

Shopee continued to demonstrate exceptional momentum in the third quarter, delivering record levels of GMV, order volume and revenues. E-commerce revenues grew 35% year over year to $4.3 billion, driven by a 28.4% increase in GMV and rising demand across Southeast Asia and Brazil. Growth in marketplace revenues and advertising income further boosted segment performance. Shopee also delivered improved profitability across key markets, underscoring the increasing efficiency of its operating model. With management now expecting more than 25% GMV growth for full-year 2025, Shopee remains a key driver of Sea Limited’s long-term expansion.

Monee sustained its rapid growth trajectory in the third quarter, driven by widening financial adoption both within and beyond the Shopee network. Segment revenues surged 61% year over year, supported by solid growth in consumer and SME lending, while credit quality remained healthy with low non-performing loans. SPayLater usage continued to expand, with on-Shopee penetration ranging from single digits in newer markets to over 30% in mature ones. Off-Shopee SPayLater also delivered impressive growth, rising more than 300% year over year and over 40% quarter over quarter. With steady loan growth, stable asset quality and increasing everyday use, Monee is becoming a key long-term growth driver for Sea Limited.

Garena delivered a strong rebound in the third quarter, with bookings rising 51.1% year over year and revenues increasing 31.2%, reflecting renewed strength across its digital entertainment portfolio. User engagement improved significantly as both active and paying users grew, lifting monetization and driving a higher paying-user ratio. The sharp increase in average bookings per user further highlights the momentum returning to the platform. With management expecting full-year bookings growth to exceed 30%, Garena’s resurgence meaningfully supports Sea Limited’s overall performance and reinforces its long-term growth outlook.

SE Stock Outperforms Industry

Sea Limited’s shares have rallied 37.1% year to date, significantly outperforming the returns of its Internet–Software industry (4.8%), the broader Computer and Technology sector (23.6%) and the Zacks S&P 500 composite (16%).

SE shares have also outperformed industry peers, including AudioEye AEYE, Workday WDAY and Meta Platforms META. On a year-to-date basis, META has gained 2.7%, whereas shares of AEYE and WDAY have declined 23.4% and 12.8%, respectively.

Stock’s Performance Chart

Positive Analyst Sentiment for SE

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter 2025 earnings is pegged at $1.01 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days and indicating a strong 62.9% increase from the year-ago period.

Similarly, the consensus mark for first-quarter 2026 earnings has edged up by a penny to $1.49 per share. This projection reflects an impressive year-over-year growth of 73.26%, underscoring continued confidence in the company’s near-term performance.

Growing Competition in SEA & LATAM Poses Challenges

Although the long-term prospects of this leading global consumer internet company remain rosy, the intensifying competitive pressure in its core markets is becoming a concern.

In Southeast Asia (SEA), JD.com is emerging as a strong competitor, backed by its powerful logistics network, vertically integrated operations and growing user base. The company’s ecosystem, spanning JD Retail, JD Logistics and JD Pay, strengthens its position as one of China’s most trusted and efficient e-commerce platforms. In the third quarter of 2025, JD.com saw solid growth, with annual active customers surpassing 700 million and total revenues rising 14.9% year over year, further intensifying competition.

In Latin America (LATAM), Shopee faces stiff competition from MercadoLibre, the dominant market leader often called the “Amazon of Latin America.” MercadoLibre’s deeply integrated e-commerce and fintech ecosystem gives it a significant advantage, forcing Shopee to aggressively adjust pricing and invest in logistics to maintain market share.

In digital entertainment, Garena faces strong competition from Take-Two Interactive, a global leader known for its blockbuster franchises and deep player engagement. Take-Two Interactive continues to dominate the market with high-production-value titles such as Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption and the NBA 2K series. However, Take-Two Interactive also faces its own challenges, as its overreliance on major releases — and delays in core titles — creates uncertainty in the competitive landscape. Overall, intensifying rivalry in gaming could pressure Garena’s long-term growth trajectory.

From a technical standpoint, Sea Limited is also showing bearish momentum. The stock’s position below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages suggests downward momentum.

SE Trades Below 50-day and 200-day SMAs

Conclusion

Sea Limited continues to show strong long-term potential, backed by robust performance across Shopee, Monee and Garena, solid share-price performance, and upbeat expectations. However, intensifying competition in Southeast Asia and Latin America, along with the need for continued reinvestment, adds pressure to its outlook. Considering both the positives and risks, taking a wait-and-see approach is prudent at this time.

SE currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), suggesting that investors should wait for a better entry point to add the stock. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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