Investing.com -- Sea Limited shares rallied over 12% in early trading Tuesday after the Southeast Asian tech giant reported fourth-quarter revenue that handily beat analyst expectations, driven by strong growth across its e-commerce and digital financial services segments.
The Singapore-based company posted revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $4.62 billion. However, adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.39, slightly below the $0.41 analysts were expecting.
Sea's e-commerce arm Shopee saw gross merchandise value (GMV) jump 23.5% YoY to $28.6 billion, while gross orders increased 20.1% to 3 billion. The digital financial services unit also impressed, with revenue surging 55.2% YoY to $733.3 million.
"We delivered a great 2024 with all three businesses going back to strong, double-digit growth, exceeding our original guidance," said Forrest Li, Sea's Chairman and CEO. "It was also our second consecutive year of annual positive profit, with all three of our businesses recording positive adjusted EBITDA."
For the full year 2024, Sea reported total revenue of $16.8 billion, up 28.8% YoY. The company swung to a net profit of $447.8 million, compared to $162.7 million in 2023.
Looking ahead, Sea expects Shopee's full year 2025 GMV growth to be around 20%, with improving profitability. The company also anticipates its digital entertainment unit Garena to grow double digits YoY in both user base and bookings in 2025.