Sea Ltd. Maintains Strong Growth Trajectory with Strategic Investment Focus, BUY Rating and US$170 Target Price May 26, 2026
Company Overview
Sea Ltd. operates as a leading digital entertainment, e-commerce, and digital financial services company across Southeast Asia and beyond. The company’s primary business segments include Shopee (e-commerce platform), Garena (digital entertainment), and SeaMoney (digital financial services including Monee lending).
Strong Performance Across All Business Segments
Sea Ltd. delivered robust first quarter 2026 results with revenue growing 47% year-on-year, demonstrating the company’s continued expansion momentum. This growth was underpinned by strong performance across all three core business divisions, with Shopee revenue increasing 44% year-on-year, Monee’s loan book expanding 41% year-on-year, and Garena bookings rising 20% year-on-year.
The company’s aggressive investment strategy in Shopee proved effective, with gross merchandise value growing 30% year-on-year and gross orders increasing 29% year-on-year. Sales and marketing expenses rose sharply by 52% year-on-year as management ramped up investments to strengthen market position and user acquisition. This strategic investment approach contributed to Shopee’s ecosystem deepening, with ShopeeVIP subscribers growing 40% quarter-on-quarter and live-streaming orders increasing 50% year-on-year.
Financial Services and Gaming Excellence
SeaMoney’s Monee division demonstrated exceptional growth with loan principal outstanding reaching US$9.9 billion, representing 71% year-on-year growth. The platform successfully expanded into more affluent borrowers whilst maintaining credit quality, with the 90-day non-performing loan ratio remaining stable at 1.1%. This performance compares favourably to traditional banks and standalone fintech lenders, highlighting Monee’s competitive advantage through its rich e-commerce ecosystem data for superior underwriting and risk assessment.
Garena delivered its strongest quarterly performance since FY21, with revenue growing 41% year-on-year. The gaming division benefited from continued Free Fire strength and record contributions from Arena of Valor, which achieved record quarterly bookings in its tenth operational year. Management expects 2026 to be a record year for the franchise, indicating sustained momentum beyond the current quarter.
Investment Recommendation and Outlook
Phillip Securities Research maintains its BUY recommendation with an unchanged target price of US$170.00. The research house views the increased investment spending as strategically beneficial for long-term competitive positioning, supporting user acquisition, merchant retention, and ecosystem engagement. Despite slightly underperforming profit expectations due to higher growth investments, the company’s revenue performance met expectations, with first quarter results representing 24% of full-year revenue estimates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is Phillip Securities Research's recommendation and target price for Sea Ltd.?
A: Phillip Securities Research maintains a BUY recommendation with an unchanged target price of US$170.00.
Q: How did Sea Ltd.'s first quarter 2026 performance compare to expectations?
A: Revenue was in line with expectations, whilst profit after tax and minority interests underperformed slightly due to increased growth investments in Shopee. First quarter revenue and profit represented 24% and 22% of full-year estimates respectively.
Q: What drove Sea Ltd.'s strong revenue growth in the quarter?
A: Revenue grew 47% year-on-year, supported by strong Shopee growth (44% year-on-year), rapid loan-book expansion at Monee (41% year-on-year), and continued strength at Garena with bookings growing 20% year-on-year.
Q: How is Shopee performing in terms of user engagement and ecosystem development?
A: Shopee continues strengthening its ecosystem with ShopeeVIP subscribers growing 40% quarter-on-quarter, live-streaming and short-video orders increasing 50% year-on-year, and YouTube-driven orders more than doubling year-on-year.
Q: What is the credit quality of Monee's lending business?
A: Monee maintains strong credit quality with a 90-day non-performing loan ratio of 1.1%, which is stable and comparable to high-quality traditional banks like DBS, and superior to standalone fintech lenders.
Q: How is Garena's gaming business performing?
A: Garena delivered its strongest quarter since FY21, with revenue growing 41% year-on-year and bookings increasing 20% year-on-year. Arena of Valor achieved record quarterly bookings, with management expecting 2026 to be a record year.
Q: Why did sales and marketing expenses increase significantly?
A: Sales and marketing expenses rose 52% year-on-year as management aggressively ramped up investments in Shopee for user acquisition, merchant retention, and ecosystem engagement to strengthen long-term competitive positioning
Q: What are management's expectations for future growth?
A: Management maintained FY26 guidance of 25% GMV growth for Shopee and reiterated continued investments in fulfilment, logistics, and the VIP ecosystem to strengthen long-term competitive advantages.
This article has been auto-generated using PhillipGPT. It is based on a report by a Phillip Securities Research analyst.
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About the author
Helena Wang
Helena covers Hardware/Marketplaces/ETF. Helena graduated with a master's degree in Financial Technology from Nanyang Technological University.
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