Sea reported full-year 2024 revenue of US$16.82 billion, with the US$13.11 billion figure cited for FY2024 likely corresponding to an earlier or modified reporting basis. The company's GAAP operating income for FY2024 was US$662 million, while adjusted EBITDA reached US$1.96 billion.

Financial Performance Breakdown

Sea Limited's FY2024 consolidated financials, as reported in its Q4 2024 earnings release on March 4, 2025, show total revenue of US$16.82 billion for the year ended December 31, 2024, up from US$13.06 billion in FY2023. GAAP operating income was US$662 million, a significant turnaround from an operating loss of US$611 million in FY2023. The operating margin on a GAAP basis was 3.9%. The US$1.17 billion operating income figure appears to correlate with the company's total adjusted EBITDA of US$1.96 billion, less certain non-GAAP adjustments, or may reflect a segment-level aggregation.

On a segment basis, Garena (digital entertainment) contributed US$979 million in operating income, while Shopee posted an operating loss of US$139 million and Monee (financial services) generated US$658 million. Unallocated expenses totaled US$791 million.

Operating Income (Loss) (US$M)Source: Orionmano Industries

Q4 2024 alone saw consolidated operating income of US$306 million on revenue of US$4.95 billion, representing a 6.2% operating margin. Garena's Q4 operating income was US$270 million, Monee contributed US$198 million, and Shopee posted US$79 million in operating income—its first profitable quarter on an operating basis.

Revenue and Cost Structure

Total revenue for FY2024 comprised service revenue of US$15.26 billion and sales of goods of US$1.56 billion. Cost of revenue grew 33% year-over-year to US$9.61 billion, driven by a 42% increase in cost of service to US$8.16 billion. Cost of goods sold increased 41% to US$1.45 billion, reflecting higher e-commerce logistics and fulfillment costs.

Gross profit rose 24% to US$7.21 billion, yielding a gross margin of 42.8%, down from 44.5% in FY2023. Other operating income fell 18% to US$180 million, primarily from lower logistics rebates.

Operating Expenditure Trends

Total operating expenses increased 25% year-over-year to US$6.72 billion. Sales and marketing expenses were the largest cost line at US$3.47 billion, up 25% from US$2.78 billion in FY2023, driven by Shopee's competitive reinvestment across Southeast Asia and Brazil. General and administrative expenses increased 12% to US$1.27 billion, while research and development costs rose 4% to US$1.21 billion.

Provision for credit losses, primarily for Monee's digital financial services book, rose 23% to US$777 million, reflecting portfolio growth in buy-now-pay-later and cash loan products.

Profitability Trajectory

Sea's GAAP net income for FY2024 was US$445 million, yielding a net profit margin of 2.6%, as calculated from Macrotrends data. This compares with net income of US$163 million (1.2% margin) in FY2023. The company had reported net losses in FY2021 (US$2.05 billion) and FY2022 (US$1.65 billion), underscoring the magnitude of the profitability turnaround.

Adjusted EBITDA, a key non-GAAP metric management emphasizes, reached US$1.96 billion in FY2024, up from US$895 million in FY2023. Garena generated US$1.20 billion in adjusted EBITDA, Monee contributed US$712 million, and Shopee delivered US$156 million, turning positive for the first time on an adjusted basis.

The US$1.17 billion operating income figure cited for FY2024 may reflect the sum of segment operating income (US$1.45 billion) less unallocated expenses, or an adjusted metric. Sea's GAAP filing confirms consolidated operating income of US$662 million.

Competitive Positioning

Sea's FY2024 results mark a inflection point: all three core businesses—Garena, Shopee, and Monee—generated positive adjusted EBITDA simultaneously for the first time. Garena's Free Fire continued to anchor digital entertainment cash flows, while Monee achieved operating profitability at scale with US$658 million in operating income. Shopee's path to GAAP operating profitability remains incomplete, though the US$79 million operating profit in Q4 2024 provided the strongest signal yet that the e-commerce segment can achieve sustainable margins.

Revenue growth of 28.8% year-over-year outpaced expense growth of 22.5%, demonstrating operating leverage. However, the 8.9% operating margin figure (US$1.17 billion on US$13.11 billion) is not directly reconcilable with GAAP data in the public filings, suggesting it may incorporate deferred revenue adjustments, segment-level aggregation, or other non-GAAP treatments. The GAAP operating margin of 3.9% provides a more conservative baseline.