Why did SE's earnings outperform forecasts in 2024?

Sea's earnings outperformed forecasts in 2024 due to strong growth across all three business segments, despite facing market challenges:

1. **Robust Revenue Growth**: Sea's total GAAP revenue for the third quarter of 2024 was $4.3 billion, marking a 30.8% year-on-year increase. This growth was driven by robust performance across all segments, including Shopee, SeaMoney, and Garena.
2. **Shopee's Market Leadership**: Shopee, Sea's e-commerce platform, continued to dominate the market in Southeast Asia, with strong revenue growth and a significant increase in gross orders and GMV. The platform is on track to deliver full-year guidance of mid-twenties year-on-year GMV growth.
3. **SeaMoney's Loan Book Expansion**: SeaMoney, the digital financial services segment, saw its loan book grow by over 70% year-on-year, reaching $3.5 billion. This growth was supported by strategic expansions into digital banking and insurance services.
4. **Garena's Strong Performance**: Garena, Sea's game development and publishing arm, continued to perform well, with over 100 million daily active users in Q2 and a 21% year-on-year increase in bookings.
5. **Improved Profitability**: Despite facing competitive pressures, Sea improved its profitability while maintaining high growth. Shopee achieved positive adjusted EBITDA in both Asia and Brazil, and the company expects Shopee to remain profitable going forward.

In summary, Sea's earnings outperformance can be attributed to robust revenue growth, strong performance across all segments, and improved profitability despite market challenges.