Maybank Investment Bank has raised Sea‘s full year revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) estimates by 3 percent to 6 percent.

The research house said in a note on last Wednesday that Sea’s strong tech-driven execution, underpenetrated markets and supportive competitive landscape position it for sustained high growth, while its disciplined, cost efficient approach allows both expansion and profitability gains.

It is noted that Sea maintained its strong growth momentum in the second quarter, beating expectations across the board.

The firm’s second quarter revenues rose 38 percent and EBITDA lifted 85 percent year on year – 2 percent to 5 percent ahead of expectations.

The firm’s E-commerce gross merchandise value (GMV) rose 28 percent year on year, the fastest pace since post-Covid normalization, with momentum expected to stay strong in the third quarter, signaling potential upside to Shopee’s 20 percent 2025 GMV growth guidance.

Management also raised its Garena booking guidance from double digit growth to now more than 30 percent growth in 2025.

Given limited Brazil concerns, Maybank thinks Shopee is on track to sustained margin improvement also aided by ad penetration

According to the research house, Shopee GMV growth in the second quarter, was driven by more active buyers and higher purchase frequency – up 10 percent year on year.

While logistics capabilities remain a strength, initiatives like its VIP program and instant delivery help with customer engagement and monetization, said the research house.

Maybank also highlighted that the firm’s Brazil momentum was on par with previous quarters with management noting relatively no impact from MELI’s free shipping program in June, claiming it is more efficient than MELI on shipping UE, product costs on its platform are cheaper while it added over 100 brands in Brazil in the second quarter which in turn allowed for higher basket size and more affluent buyers.

Shopee adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of GMV also fell 17 basis points quarter on quarter but this was well flagged as first quarter was helped by seasonality.

Meanwhile, Sea’s Monee’s second quarter loan book rose 90 percent year on year to $6.9 billion, revenue and adjusted EBITDA grew more than 50 percent year on year, and active users topped 30 million (+45 percent year on year).

The firm also added 4 million first time borrowers; 90-day non performing loan (NPL) stable at 1 percent.

Malaysia’s loan book passed $1 billion, joining Indonesia and Thailand. Brazil loan book and active loan users more than doubled year on year.

It is noted that unified credit limits, richer external data use, and Shopee integration drove growth.

In Brazil, the firm has secured SEFI license which allows for better funding sources.

With 50 percent of the loan book coming from high-margin on-Shopee buy now, pay later (BNPL), Maybank believes a part of Shopee’s monetization is driven through Monee.

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