SE
Sea came out swinging
Sea Limited kicked off 2026 with a pretty loud flex: first-quarter revenue hit US$7.1 billion, up 46.6% from a year ago. That’s not “nice quarter” territory — that’s “the engine is still in overdrive” territory.
The profit story didn’t fall apart
Revenue is great, but investors usually want to know whether the company is just buying growth with a credit card and a prayer. Sea’s numbers say otherwise:
- Gross profit: US$3.1 billion, up 40.7% year over year
- Net income: US$438.2 million, up 6.7% year over year
- Adjusted EBITDA: US$1.0 billion, up 9.3% year over year
That mix suggests Sea is still scaling, but it’s not throwing profitability out the window to do it. In market terms, that’s the sweet spot: growth investors get their adrenaline fix, and the skeptics get a little less ammunition.
Why investors should care
Sea has long been a story about whether its businesses can grow up without getting awkward about margins. A 46.6% revenue jump is the kind of number that makes people lean in, especially when net income and EBITDA are still positive and moving higher.
Big picture: Sea is showing that it can still grow like a startup while acting a little more like a grown-up. That’s usually when the stock starts getting a lot more interesting.