Sea Limited Misses Q3 Estimates: Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?

Core Insights - Sea Limited's recent earnings report indicates strong revenue growth of 38.3% year over year, despite missing earnings expectations by 24.27% with earnings of 78 cents per share [1][8] - The company maintains solid long-term growth prospects across its three main business segments: Shopee, Monee, and Garena, which are driving user growth and monetization [2] Segment Performance - Shopee achieved significant growth with e-commerce revenues increasing by 35% year over year to $4.3 billion, supported by a 28.4% rise in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) [3] - Monee's revenues surged by 61% year over year, driven by increased financial adoption and healthy credit quality, with SPayLater usage expanding significantly [4] - Garena experienced a strong rebound, with bookings rising by 51.1% year over year and revenues increasing by 31.2%, reflecting improved user engagement and monetization [5] Stock Performance - Sea Limited's shares have increased by 37.1% year to date, outperforming the Internet-Software industry (4.8%) and the broader Computer and Technology sector (23.6%) [6] - The stock has also outperformed peers such as AudioEye, Workday, and Meta Platforms, which have seen lower or negative returns [6] Analyst Sentiment - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter 2025 earnings is $1.01 per share, indicating a strong year-over-year growth of 62.9% [10] - The first-quarter 2026 earnings estimate has also increased to $1.49 per share, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 73.26% [11] Competitive Landscape - Increasing competition in Southeast Asia from JD.com and in Latin America from MercadoLibre poses challenges for Sea Limited [13][14] - In digital entertainment, Garena faces competition from Take-Two Interactive, which could impact its long-term growth trajectory [15]