The costs reflect the conglomerate's efforts to attract consumers to its platform, Shopee, through incentives such as discounts, offers and loyalty benefits, as rivals such as TikTok Shop expand their businesses as well. Sea's total operating expenses grew over 28% to US$2.43 billion (RM9.6 billion) in the fourth quarter from a year ago. Sales and marketing expenses rose 25.4% for Shopee and 96.2% for financial services platform Monee during the quarter. As its expenses rise, Sea has been betting on artificial intelligence as a way to bolster its operations further. The company reported quarterly revenue of US$6.85 billion, surpassing analysts' average estimate of US$6.45 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Source: The Edge Markets March 03, 2026 12:15 UTC