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Sea Limited Gains 53% YTD: Is the Stock Worth a Good Buy?

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Key Takeaways

  • Sea Limited shares are up 54% year to date, outpacing sector and industry returns.
  • E-commerce, gaming and financial services units all posted double-digit revenue growth.
  • With $9.4B in liquidity and strong cash flow, Sea Limited remains well-positioned for expansion.

Sea Limited (SE - Free Report) shares have gained 53.3% year to date (YTD), outperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s appreciation of 23% and the Zacks Internet – Software industry’s return of 18%.

The rally in SE shares reflects the company’s robust, balanced growth across all core businesses, including E-commerce (Shopee), Digital Entertainment (Garena) and Digital Financial Services (Monee), which is supported by margin expansion, higher monetization and consistent execution across its multi-engine business model.

These factors have enabled SE to outperform its peers, including UiPath (PATH - Free Report) , Reddit Inc. (RDDT - Free Report) and Gitlab (GTLB - Free Report) , over the same period. While UiPath and Reddit shares have returned 25.4% and 21.8%, respectively, Gitlab shares have fallen 14.3%.

Profitable Growth Across Verticals Lifts SE’s Prospects

Shopee posted another record-breaking quarter, with e-commerce revenues climbing 33.7% year over year to $3.8 billion in the second quarter and GMV up 25% in the first half of 2025. Growth was driven by rising active buyers, stronger purchase conversion and higher ad take rates. Profitability improved across Asia and Brazil, reflecting expanding scale and marketing efficiency. Enhanced by AI-powered seller tools and the VIP membership program, engagement remained strong. Live streaming and short-form video contributed more than 20% of total orders, highlighting Shopee's leadership and sustained trajectory of profitable growth in the third quarter.

Garena maintained strong momentum in the second quarter of 2025, with Digital Entertainment revenues up 28.4% year over year and bookings advancing 23.2%. Growth was fueled by rising engagement and a higher paying-user base. Free Fire remained the primary driver, maintaining over 100 million daily active users and reinforcing its position as an evergreen global title. Alongside double-digit gains in Arena of Valor, EA Sports FC Online and Call of Duty: Mobile, Garena continues to act as a major profit engine for Sea, supporting its forecast of over 30% bookings growth in 2025.

Building on its solid momentum in the second quarter of 2025, with Digital Financial Services revenues up 70% year over year and the loan book soaring 94%. Despite this expansion, credit quality remained strong with a 90-day NPL ratio of just 1.0%. Malaysia became the third market to exceed $1 billion in loans, alongside Indonesia and Thailand, while Brazil delivered strong momentum from SPayLater and personal loan adoption. Enhanced by Shopee integration, a broad user credit base and AI-enabled underwriting, Monee is scaling responsibly and positioned for sustainable, high-margin growth in emerging markets.

Capital Strength Positions SE for Sustainable Growth

Sea Limited remains firmly committed to driving profitable growth while maintaining a strong, flexible balance sheet that positions it to capture future opportunities. The company’s prudent financial management provides a solid foundation for continued expansion across its core businesses.

Backed by $7.2 billion in short-term investments and $2.17 billion in cash as of June 30, 2025, Sea Limited enjoys exceptional liquidity to support reinvestment and strategic debt reduction. The repayment of convertible notes and a robust $2.37 billion in operating cash flow during the first half of 2025 underscore its financial resilience and disciplined execution. These achievements strengthen investor confidence in the company’s long-term outlook and reinforce its capacity to sustain growth, profitability and strategic agility in a rapidly evolving digital economy.

SE’s Estimate Revision Shows Positive Trend

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SE’s 2025 revenues is pegged at $23.2 million, suggesting a year-over-year increase of 36.97%.

The consensus mark for 2025 earnings is pegged at $4.04 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days. This projection signals an impressive year-over-year growth of 140.48%.

Conclusion: Buy SE Stock Now

With robust, broad-based growth across Shopee, Garena and Monee, expanding profitability, and a solid balance sheet, the company demonstrates strong execution and financial resilience. Rising earnings estimates, disciplined scaling and accelerating user engagement make SE an attractive buy for investors.

Sea Limited currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.


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