Back in 2022, Sea Limited was in the midst of a painful transition. It had overextended during the pandemic-era boom, facing USD $1.7 billion net loss, burning cash to chase growth in e-commerce, fintech, and gaming across Asia and Latin America.
By late 2023, investor sentiment had soured. Analysts questioned whether the Singapore-based company could evolve beyond its aggressive subsidy-led model and deliver consistent, sustainable returns.
Fast forward to the end of 2024. Sea not only stabilised, it soared. Not too high like Ikarus, but its profitability did, according to the Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Results by Sea Limited.
The company closed the year with total revenue of USD $16.8 billion, up nearly 29% year-on-year, and a net income of USD $447.8 million, a dramatic improvement from USD $162.7 million in 2023.
All three of its major segments—e-commerce (Shopee), digital financial services (SeaMoney), and digital entertainment (Garena)—posted positive adjusted EBITDA for the second consecutive year.
Shopee Turns the Tide
Shopee, once seen as a money-burning machine, ended 2024 as a surprisingly disciplined, profitable, and still fast-growing platform. Gross merchandise value (GMV) hit USD $100.5 billion, up 28% from the previous year, while total orders jumped 33% to 10.9 billion.
In the fourth quarter alone, Shopee generated USD $3.7 billion in GAAP revenue (41.3% higher than Q4 2023) and achieved adjusted EBITDA of USD $152.2 million. Notably, both Asia and Brazil operations were profitable on an adjusted EBITDA basis.
Shopee’s revenue growth came not just from more transactions, but higher monetisation. Its core marketplace revenue, which includes transaction fees and advertising, rose nearly 50% year-on-year to USD $2.4 billion in Q4. Logistics-related value-added services also grew 21%, reflecting increased internalisation and scale.
But the bigger story might be what Shopee didn’t do. It managed all of this while reducing its sales and marketing spend in Q4 by 2.9% year-on-year.
After years of chasing market share with aggressive promotions, Shopee now appears focused on extracting value from its vast user base. Sea projects Shopee’s GMV will grow about 20% in 2025, with continued margin improvements.
SeaMoney Finds Its Moment
SeaMoney, the company’s fintech arm, quietly became a dominant force in Southeast Asia’s consumer credit space in 2024. Its loan book exceeded USD $5.1 billion by year-end, up an astonishing 63.9% year-on-year. Of this, USD $4.2 billion is on Sea’s own balance sheet, with another USD $0.9 billion facilitated via off-book partnerships.
The performance metrics are just as compelling as the growth figures. Non-performing loans (NPLs) more than 90 days past due remained at a low 1.2%. Quite remarkable for a fast-scaling credit business in emerging markets. SeaMoney’s adjusted EBITDA rose 42.1% in Q4 to USD $211 million, and hit USD $712.2 million for the full year.
Revenue for the fintech segment grew 55% year-on-year in Q4 to USD $733.3 million, driven by consumer and SME credit. Notably, sales and marketing expenses in the fintech segment more than doubled (up roughly 133% in Q4) as Sea poured resources into expanding off-platform adoption.
Looking ahead, Sea expects SeaMoney’s loan book to grow faster than Shopee’s GMV in 2025, signalling a strategic shift: the company is building a financial ecosystem that extends well beyond its marketplace.
Garena Free Firing on All Cylinders
Two years ago, many observers had written off Garena, Sea’s digital entertainment division, as a declining pandemic-era winner. And as an avid gamer, I was one of them.
But 2024 proved otherwise. Garena posted a remarkable resurgence, driven largely by Free Fire, its flagship mobile battle royale game. Who would’ve thought? I for sure didn’t.
In Q4, bookings surged 19% year-on-year to USD $543.2 million. Annual bookings grew 18.7% to USD $2.1 billion, reversing a steep decline from prior years.
Quarterly active users rose 17% to 618 million, while paying users jumped 27% to 50.4 million. The paying user ratio also ticked up from 7.5% to 8.2%, and average bookings per user held steady at USD $0.88.
The digital entertainment segment posted adjusted EBITDA of USD $1.2 billion for the year, up 30%, with a robust 56% margin against bookings.
While GAAP revenue dipped due to deferred revenue recognition mechanics, the underlying trend points to a business regaining relevance and traction, particularly in high-engagement markets like India and Brazil.
Sea’s leadership now expects Garena to grow both user base and bookings at double-digit rates again in 2025, suggesting this isn’t a one-off comeback but a renewed growth phase.
Is it going to be just a one-season wonder? Guess we have to wait and see.
Cash Flow to Match the Vision
Behind Sea’s headline figures lies a less flashy but just as important story, which is operational discipline. The company improved gross profit by 23.5% to USD $7.2 billion, despite rising logistics and credit costs.
Sales and marketing expenses rose 25% year-on-year, but more slowly than revenue, and mostly concentrated in the fintech segment. General and administrative expenses increased 11.7%, though this included one-time legal settlement costs. R&D spending remained flat, indicating better cost control.
Sea generated over USD $3.5 billion in net cash from operations for the full year, up from USD $2.8 billion in 2023.
Due to heavy investments, the company closed 2024 with USD $10.4 billion in cash, equivalents, and investments, up USD $479 million from the previous quarter.
The company also trimmed its convertible notes liabilities, reducing long-term financial risk.
A New Tech Playbook for Southeast Asia?
Sea’s resurgence marks more than just a successful turnaround. It reflects the emergence of a new playbook for Southeast Asia’s tech giants—one focused on self-sustaining growth, integrated ecosystems, and capital efficiency.
Unlike many peers, Sea now owns profitable operations in all its core verticals. Shopee commands the region’s top e-commerce platform. SeaMoney is one of the largest digital lenders. Garena is again a top mobile gaming publisher (this is arguable, however).
And unlike some other regional super-apps that depend heavily on transport or food delivery, Sea’s strength lies in digital services that are scalable, high-margin, and less operationally intensive.
Yes, there’s still work ahead. Macroeconomic risks remain. Competition is fierce. But Sea’s 2024 results send a clear signal.
Their story isn’t finished, but the next chapter is clearly its strongest yet.
Featured image: Edited from Freepik.
