Singapore's Sea misses earnings estimates as AI costs climb. Investors have raised concerns that competition from TikTok Shop, Lazada and Shein is weighing on Shopee's prices and margins, Sea's biggest unit. SINGAPORE: Sea Ltd shares fell after the Southeast Asia e-commerce leader reported earnings that missed estimates, stoking investor concerns about the cost of keeping pace in the AI race. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the three months through September climbed 29% to US$931 million, the company said Tuesday. Analysts estimated US$990 million on average, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. Revenue rose 43% to US$8.6 billion, exceeding predictions. The stock declined 1.5%, erasing gains earlier in the day. Investors have been concerned that competition with ByteDance's TikTok Shop, Alibaba Group Holding's Lazada and recently listed Shein Global Holdings is weighing on prices and margins at Shopee, Sea's biggest unit. At the same time, Sea's expenditures are increasing as the company embeds artificial intelligence features into its product offerings and works to expand in areas such as cloud computing and food delivery. Adjusted Ebitda at Shopee rose 45% to US$269.2 million in the period, while revenue jumped to US$6.1 billion. Sea said its board authorised additional US$1 billion in stock buybacks, after the company purchased a similar amount under a previous repurchase programme. Shares of Sea have plunged 40% this year, weighed down by rising oil prices and fierce competition. CEO Forrest Li's plan to begin offering cloud services sent the stock lower in October as analysts flagged the firm was unclear about how it would build the new business and how much it would spend. On an earnings call Tuesday, Li said that Sea won't own large amounts of physical capacity, and is looking to bring in new customers to fund the physical infrastructure of its cloud business. The AI-led expansion would pit Sea against the likes of deep-pocketed cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services. Yet it's unlikely that Sea could operate at the same scale as more established rivals, since the company would need to spend substantially on resources like chips and storage before turning a profit, said Bloomberg Intelligence analysts including Lea El-Hage. Sea is also eyeing a public listing of its financial services arm Monee. The potential spinoff would give Monee independent access to capital while its margins stay fragile, according to El-Hage. Those moves come as Sea seeks to carve out space beyond its home ground - expanding its Shopee retail empire to Brazil, while grappling with possible regulatory hurdles in major regional market Indonesia. Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Singapore's Sea misses earnings estimates on rising AI costs. 10 Nov 2026, 08:25 pm (Nov 10): Sea Ltd earnings missed estimates after the Southeast Asia e-commerce leader boosted spending in artificial intelligence (AI) features and intense competition weighed on prices. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for the three months through September climbed 29% to US$931 million (RM3.78 billion), the company said on Tuesday. Analysts estimated US$990 million on average, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. Revenue rose 43% to US$8.6 billion, exceeding predictions. The stock fell more than 10% in pre-market trading before paring some losses. Battle for customers with ByteDance Ltd's TikTok Shop, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's Lazada and recently listed Shein Global Holdings Ltd is weighing on prices at Sea's e-commerce arm Shopee, its biggest unit. At the same time, its expenditures are increasing as the company embeds AI features into its product offerings and works to expand in areas such as cloud computing and food delivery. Through Monday, Sea's shares had plunged about 40% from the start of the year, weighed down by rising oil prices and fierce competition. Chief executive officer Forrest Li's plan to begin offering cloud services to global firms sent the stock lower in October as analysts flagged the firm was unclear about how it would build the new business and how much it would spend. The AI-led expansion would set Sea against the likes of deep-pocketed cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services. Yet it's unlikely that Sea could operate at the same scale as its more established rivals, as the firm would need to spend substantially on resources like chips and storage before turning a profit, said Bloomberg Intelligence analysts including Lea El-Hage. At the same time, Sea is eyeing a public listing of its financial services arm Monee. The potential spin-off would give Monee independent access to capital while its margins stay fragile, according to El-Hage. Those moves come as the firm seeks to carve out space beyond its home ground - expanding its Shopee retail empire to Brazil, while grappling with possible regulatory hurdles in major regional market Indonesia. Adjusted Ebitda at Shopee rose 45% to US$269.2 million in the latest quarter, while sales jumped 41% to US$6.1 billion. The company said its board authorised additional US$1 billion in stock buy-backs, after the company purchased a similar amount under a previous repurchase programme. Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee AEI Capital Group Opens Expanded Hong Kong Headquarters and Launches the AEI Global Asset & Wealth Hub Group signs seven strategic Memoranda of Understanding with partners from the United States, Greater China, Malaysia and the Maldives, as the Hong Kong hub prepares the ground for a sister hub in the Maldives

Double 11 shopping festival expected to boost bank card transaction volume by double digits 2026.11.07 03:00 Commercial Times, Lu Hsin-Chih Government-owned banks observe that in recent years Double 11 has become an important annual shopping period, driving growth in credit card transaction amounts and transaction counts, with average increases of about double digits compared with ordinary months. As major e-commerce platforms continue to roll out promotional offers, card spending momentum is expected to continue this year. Mega Bank statistics show that during past Double 11 periods, credit card transaction amounts grew by about 15% on average compared with ordinary months, and the number of transactions also grew by about 10%. As e-commerce promotions continue to intensify and online shopping demand grows steadily, card spending during this year's Double 11 period is expected to maintain growth momentum. First Commercial Bank noted that online shopping consumption has gradually shifted from being concentrated in a single shopping festival in the past to becoming normalized throughout the year. In recent years, cumulative online shopping transaction amounts have grown nearly 10% compared with the same period. This year, in conjunction with Double 11, it has partnered with e-commerce platforms to launch offers, hoping to further boost buying during the period and continue to drive overall online shopping momentum. Hua Nan Bank also observed that transaction amounts during the Double 11 period have grown steadily over the past three years, and consumer enthusiasm has also extended from Double 11 to the Double 12 shopping festival. With the topic of new Apple product launches, it is expected to grow steadily this year. In terms of consumption trends, Mega Bank said that during Double 11, cardholders' spending is mainly concentrated in categories such as department stores and hypermarkets, travel, apparel, and 3C products, among which the share of travel product spending has risen slightly in recent years. Taiwan Cooperative Bank also mentioned that in recent years Double 11 card spending has been dominated by department store and travel transactions. Hua Nan Bank observed that cardholders prefer to shop with cards on comprehensive online shopping platforms. In addition to having many promotional activities and product options, customers prefer to buy high-priced items during promotion periods, such as 3C products, home appliances, meal vouchers, accommodation vouchers, beauty and skincare products, or daily necessities, in order to obtain platform or credit card bonus rewards for reaching spending thresholds. Aiming at Double 11 consumption opportunities, government-owned banks have partnered with major e-commerce platforms to launch credit card spending promotions, ranging from installment spending threshold rewards and bonuses at designated channels to mobile payment discounts and gifts for reaching spending thresholds, in a bid to boost card spending momentum. Among them, First Commercial Bank is targeting high-value purchase needs such as phone upgrades, 3C products and home appliances, focusing on major e-commerce platforms such as momo and Coupang to add card promotions, offering up to 25% cash back on installments. Land Bank of Taiwan, meanwhile, is focusing on mobile payments; cardholders using Taiwan Pay and Land Bank Mobile Pay at designated channels can receive up to 20% cash back. Taiwan Cooperative Bank and Hua Nan Bank offer maximum reward rates of 12% and 10%, respectively, during the Double 11 period. Mega Bank has partnered with four major e-commerce platforms - momo, Shopee, PChome 24h, and Coupang - where a single purchase reaching the threshold can earn up to NT$2,500 in card credit. Bank of Taiwan has also partnered with designated e-commerce platforms to launch threshold gift promotions; installment spending reaching the threshold can earn up to NT$2,750 in platform points, pickup vouchers, or instant discounts.