Sea Ltd Raises Shopee Profit Forecast After Revenue Beat

Sea Ltd raised the full-year adjusted EBITDA forecast for its e-commerce subsidiary, Shopee, to $1 billion, increasing the previous estimate of at least $880.6 million. The revision follows second-quarter results where total company revenue rose 48% to $7.8 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $7.1 billion. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter grew 11% to $917 million, with Shopee contributing $255 million, a 12% increase.

Chief Executive Officer Forrest Li is prioritizing artificial intelligence to drive future growth, including the deployment of the generative-AI chatbot Migoo. However, the company is managing thin margins resulting from expansion in Brazil and regulatory hurdles in Indonesia. Shopee also faces intense competition from Temu, Alibaba's Lazada, and ByteDance's TikTok.

To streamline operations, Shopee reduced its global developer workforce by approximately 8% in June.