# Shopee
**Shopee** is the e-commerce marketplace arm of Sea Limited (NYSE: SE), launched in Singapore in February 2015 as a mobile-first platform and now the largest e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, and operating in Brazil.[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703399/000119312526344596/d120948dex991.htm) • [2](https://garnetmarketplace.com/marketplaces/shopee.html) Sea operates three businesses across e-commerce, digital financial services, and digital entertainment, known as Shopee, Monee (formerly [SeaMoney](https://www.edgepedia.org/monee-sea-limited)), and Garena respectively.[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703399/000119312526344596/d120948dex991.htm) In 2025 Shopee served around 400 million active buyers and 20 million sellers, moving US$127.4 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) across 13.9 billion orders.[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703399/000119312526088151/d106475dex991.htm)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | February 2015, Singapore, as Sea Limited's e-commerce arm[2](https://garnetmarketplace.com/marketplaces/shopee.html) |
| Scale (2025) | US$127.4 billion GMV, 13.9 billion orders, ~400 million active buyers, 20 million sellers[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703399/000119312526088151/d106475dex991.htm) |
| Markets | Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan (China), and Brazil; exited Europe and India in 2022[2](https://garnetmarketplace.com/marketplaces/shopee.html) • [4](https://www.popularfintech.com/p/it-started-with-a-game-sea-limited-fintech-a6a97650f0ca900d) |
| Revenue (2025) | US$16.6 billion, up 33.4% year-on-year, including US$14.5 billion marketplace revenue[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703399/000119312526088151/d106475dex991.htm) |
| Profitability | Adjusted EBITDA of US$880.6 million in 2025, versus US$155.8 million in 2024 and a US$2.5 billion loss in 2021[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703399/000119312526088151/d106475dex991.htm) • [4](https://www.popularfintech.com/p/it-started-with-a-game-sea-limited-fintech-a6a97650f0ca900d) |
| Logistics | SPX Express grew from near-zero Southeast Asian share in 2022 to about 25% in 2024[5](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/hyperlocal-deliveries-fuel-300-stock-rise-shopee-owner-sea) |
| Main rivals | TikTok Shop + Tokopedia, Lazada (Alibaba), Temu (PDD) in Southeast Asia; Mercado Livre and Amazon in Brazil[6](https://www.theteardown.co/sea) |
## History and expansion
Shopee launched in 2015 as a mobile-first marketplace aimed at helping individuals sell to one another, a year after Sea launched its AirPay wallet, and quickly evolved into one of the largest online commerce platforms in Southeast Asia and Taiwan.[4](https://www.popularfintech.com/p/it-started-with-a-game-sea-limited-fintech-a6a97650f0ca900d) Between 2019 and 2021 it expanded into Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina), Europe (Spain, France, Poland), and India.[4](https://www.popularfintech.com/p/it-started-with-a-game-sea-limited-fintech-a6a97650f0ca900d)
**The 2022 retreat.** As interest rates rose and losses ballooned, Shopee exited much of Latin America, India, and France to refocus on Brazil; Sea cut around 7,000 jobs and chief executive [Forrest Li](https://www.edgepedia.org/forrest-li) told staff to target self-sufficiency.[6](https://www.theteardown.co/sea) The company also shuttered e-commerce operations in some European and Latin American markets to reduce expenses.[5](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/hyperlocal-deliveries-fuel-300-stock-rise-shopee-owner-sea) Investor impatience with the path to profit showed in the share price, which peaked at US$366.99 on 19 October 2021 and closed at US$80.47 by 24 June 2022.[7](https://insideretail.asia/2022/06/30/southeast-asian-retailer-shopees-long-path-to-profit-are-we-there-yet/) Brazil is the only non-Asian market where Shopee still operates and is now one of its largest markets by revenue.[4](https://www.popularfintech.com/p/it-started-with-a-game-sea-limited-fintech-a6a97650f0ca900d)
## Business model and revenue
Shopee's profit model depends mainly on commissions, transaction fees, and service fees.[8](https://download.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/pesd-25/126019400) Sea monetizes the platform through paid advertising for sellers, transaction-based fees, and value-added services including logistics.[4](https://www.popularfintech.com/p/it-started-with-a-game-sea-limited-fintech-a6a97650f0ca900d) [Marketplace](https://www.edgepedia.org/marketplace) revenue contributes about 80% of the e-commerce business, comprising advertising fees charged in all markets for performance-based tools, seller commissions in certain markets, and fees for value-added services; the remaining 20% comes from sales of private-label goods.[9](https://www.ajuniorvc.com/shopee-lazada-ecommerce-singapore-southeast-asia-sea-unicorn) In full-year 2024, e-commerce GAAP revenue was US$12.4 billion, including US$10.9 billion of marketplace revenue (up 38%) and US$1.6 billion of product revenue.[19](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703399/000119312525045576/d930776dex991.htm)
**Fee increases.** In September 2024 all major players raised merchant fees across Southeast Asian markets. In Indonesia, Shopee raised fees for certain sellers to a range of 4.25–8%, while Tokopedia/[TikTok Shop](https://www.edgepedia.org/tiktok-shop) increased fees to 8% from a previous maximum of 6.5%.[10](https://www.dbs.com.sg/treasures/aics/templatedata/article/recentdevelopment/data/en/DBSV/012025/SE_US_01032025.xml)
**Take rates.** Estimates of Shopee's blended [marketplace take rate](https://www.edgepedia.org/marketplace-take-rate) disagree. One analysis puts it at roughly 10%, blended across marketplace commissions of about 5–7%, advertising of about 2–3%, and logistics and payments of about 1–2%, well below MercadoLibre's roughly 18% in Latin America.[11](https://visuwire.com/companies/sea-limited/) Another puts it at about 12.4% in 2024 rising to roughly 13.0% in 2025, with e-commerce service revenue over GMV improving from 10.8% to 11.4%.[2](https://garnetmarketplace.com/marketplaces/shopee.html) A third pegs it around 11% after headline commissions rose roughly 3–4% over a year.[6](https://www.theteardown.co/sea) In Q4 2025, core marketplace revenue (transaction-based fees and advertising) rose 50.2% year-on-year to US$3.6 billion, while value-added services revenue fell 7.5% to US$735.0 million due to higher revenue net-off against shipping subsidies.[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703399/000119312526088151/d106475dex991.htm)
**The Sea structure.** Shopee sits alongside Monee and Garena within Sea Limited. In 2025 Monee gained over 20 million unique first-time borrowers and Garena connected on average with more than 100 million players daily.[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703399/000119312526088151/d106475dex991.htm) In Q4 2024, Monee's revenue rose 55% year-on-year to US$733 million with consumer and SME loans outstanding of US$5.1 billion (up 64%) and 90+ day non-performing loans of 1.2%, while Garena bookings were US$543 million in the quarter and US$2.1 billion for 2024 with adjusted EBITDA of US$1.2 billion for the year.[19](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703399/000119312525045576/d930776dex991.htm) Garena's earnings historically cross-subsidized Shopee's losses; Shopee entered markets with zero-commission listings and free-shipping subsidies funded by Garena, building the largest order volumes in Southeast Asia within 3–5 years of launch in each market.[11](https://visuwire.com/companies/sea-limited/) The Diplomat notes that [Tokopedia](https://www.edgepedia.org/tokopedia), like Shopee, was a big loss-maker without a money-maker like Garena to carry the losses.[12](https://thediplomat.com/2026/03/shopee-finally-became-profitable-in-2025/)
## Logistics and payments
Sea spent nearly US$1 billion building its logistics arm in 2022 after online orders more than doubled in 2021, following a pledge by Forrest Li on a 2022 earnings call.[5](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/hyperlocal-deliveries-fuel-300-stock-rise-shopee-owner-sea) The arm, SPX Express, grew from essentially zero Southeast Asian market share in 2022 to about 25% in 2024, according to the research firm Momentum Works.[5](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/hyperlocal-deliveries-fuel-300-stock-rise-shopee-owner-sea) One SPX sorting facility processes up to 400,000 parcels a day, 90% of SPX parcels in Singapore are delivered the next day, and Shopee has more than 3,500 collection points across Singapore.[5](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/hyperlocal-deliveries-fuel-300-stock-rise-shopee-owner-sea) Vertical integration through Shopee Express, Shopee Hub, and tracking systems strengthens the value chain, particularly in Indonesia's complex geography.[13](https://journal.undiknas.ac.id/index.php/revenue/article/view/7380) For cross-border commerce, Shopee combines self-built logistics with cooperative logistics platforms, and its payment model partners with Payoneer, Pingpong, and LianLianPay.[8](https://download.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/pesd-25/126019400)
## By the numbers
Shopee's adjusted EBITDA losses peaked at US$2.5 billion in 2021, then turned positive at US$156 million in 2024.[4](https://www.popularfintech.com/p/it-started-with-a-game-sea-limited-fintech-a6a97650f0ca900d) [At the Sea](https://www.edgepedia.org/at-the-sea) level, big spending cuts helped the company become profitable for the first time in 2023, with net income of US$163 million on thin margins, after a net loss of US$1.6 billion in 2022; net income reached US$448 million in 2024 on revenue up 29% to US$16.8 billion.[14](https://thediplomat.com/2025/05/the-rise-and-fall-and-rise-again-of-sea-ltd/) [E-commerce](https://www.edgepedia.org/e-commerce) adjusted EBITDA was US$152 million in Q4 2024 against a US$225 million loss in Q4 2023, and positive US$156 million for full-year 2024 against a US$214 million loss in 2023.[19](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703399/000119312525045576/d930776dex991.htm) A 2023 figure of US$9 billion in Shopee revenue, up 23.5% from the previous year, appears in an academic analysis of its cross-border model.[8](https://download.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/pesd-25/126019400)
**2025.** For full-year 2025, Sea's GAAP revenue was US$22.9 billion, up 36.4% year-on-year, with gross profit of US$10.2 billion (up 42.2%) and net income of US$1.6 billion versus US$447.8 million in 2024.[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703399/000119312526088151/d106475dex991.htm) Shopee's gross orders totaled 13.9 billion (up 27.2%), GMV was US$127.4 billion (up 26.8%), and GAAP revenue was US$16.6 billion (up 33.4%), including US$14.5 billion of marketplace revenue; adjusted EBITDA was US$880.6 million versus US$155.8 million in 2024.[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703399/000119312526088151/d106475dex991.htm)
## How it compares with Lazada, TikTok Shop, Temu, and Tokopedia
Shopee leads Southeast Asian e-commerce over Lazada (Alibaba), the merged TikTok Shop + Tokopedia (ByteDance/GoTo), and Temu (PDD); in Brazil it competes with Mercado Livre and Amazon.[6](https://www.theteardown.co/sea) Momentum Works figures cited by The Business Times put Shopee at 56% of US$120 billion in Southeast Asian GMV, with TikTok Shop at 19% and Lazada at 15%, based on the top four platforms; a marketplace reference puts Shopee's 2024 share at roughly 52%.[5](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/hyperlocal-deliveries-fuel-300-stock-rise-shopee-owner-sea) • [2](https://garnetmarketplace.com/marketplaces/shopee.html)
**TikTok Shop's rise.** Shopee's Southeast Asian share declined in nearly all regional markets between 2022 and 2023, with the sharpest retreat in Malaysia, where it fell from 78% of e-commerce in 2022 to less than two-thirds in 2023, while TikTok Shop posted double-digit absolute growth in at least four countries.[15](https://the-ken.com/story/sea-ltds-stock-soars-on-shopees-growth-but-tiktok-and-temu-loom-large/) In December 2023 TikTok Shop invested US$1.5 billion for a controlling 75.01% stake in a joint venture with GoTo's Tokopedia, giving it instant scale in Indonesia, Shopee's biggest market.[6](https://www.theteardown.co/sea) Across Southeast Asia, TikTok Shop + Tokopedia have reached 65.7% of Shopee's GMV, and in Vietnam TikTok Shop climbed to over 41% share in 2025, from about 24% in 2023, against Shopee's roughly 56%.[6](https://www.theteardown.co/sea) In Indonesia, Shopee faces intense competition from TikTok Shop particularly in the Fashion and Beauty category, while its extensive SKU coverage, free-shipping promotions, and cash-on-delivery payment options distinguish it.[16](https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/dad4/dc127e92fedef204e0ce63269d8d8458a260.pdf) Shopee and Lazada are adding live-streaming and short-video features resembling TikTok Shop's model.[15](https://the-ken.com/story/sea-ltds-stock-soars-on-shopees-growth-but-tiktok-and-temu-loom-large/)
**Temu and Lazada.** Temu entered the Philippines and Malaysia in 2023 and has since set up shop in Thailand.[15](https://the-ken.com/story/sea-ltds-stock-soars-on-shopees-growth-but-tiktok-and-temu-loom-large/)
## Regulation and controversy
SPX's gig-style pay structure, with typical payouts of around S$0.50 per parcel, means workers often hustle longer hours to keep up with rising volumes.[5](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/hyperlocal-deliveries-fuel-300-stock-rise-shopee-owner-sea) In Indonesia, SPX couriers protested a cut in per-parcel commission from Rp2,000 to Rp1,500 (about US$0.13 per parcel) with no monthly salary.[6](https://www.theteardown.co/sea) The September 2024 merchant-fee increases across the region, including Shopee's rise to 4.25–8% for certain Indonesian sellers, drew attention to platform pricing power over sellers.[10](https://www.dbs.com.sg/treasures/aics/templatedata/article/recentdevelopment/data/en/DBSV/012025/SE_US_01032025.xml)
## References
1. [Sea Limited Exhibit 99.1 (SEC)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703399/000119312526344596/d120948dex991.htm)
2. [Shopee, marketplace profile, Garnet Marketplace](https://garnetmarketplace.com/marketplaces/shopee.html)
3. [Sea Limited Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results (Exhibit 99.1, SEC)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703399/000119312526088151/d106475dex991.htm)
4. [It started with a game, Popular Fintech](https://www.popularfintech.com/p/it-started-with-a-game-sea-limited-fintech-a6a97650f0ca900d)
5. [Hyperlocal deliveries fuel 300% stock rise for Shopee owner Sea, The Business Times](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/hyperlocal-deliveries-fuel-300-stock-rise-shopee-owner-sea)
6. [Sea Limited, The Teardown](https://www.theteardown.co/sea)
7. [Southeast Asian retailer Shopee's long path to profit: Are we there yet?, Inside Retail Asia](https://insideretail.asia/2022/06/30/southeast-asian-retailer-shopees-long-path-to-profit-are-we-there-yet/)
8. [Analysis of Operation Model of Cross-Border E-Commerce in Singapore—Taking Shopee as an Example, Atlantis Press](https://download.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/pesd-25/126019400)
9. [Shopee vs Lazada: Ecommerce in Singapore and Southeast Asia, A Junior VC](https://www.ajuniorvc.com/shopee-lazada-ecommerce-singapore-southeast-asia-sea-unicorn)
10. [SE looking to gain e-commerce market share amid benign competition in the region, DBS](https://www.dbs.com.sg/treasures/aics/templatedata/article/recentdevelopment/data/en/DBSV/012025/SE_US_01032025.xml)
11. [How Sea Limited Makes its Money: Revenue Breakdown (2024), Visuwire](https://visuwire.com/companies/sea-limited/)
12. [Shopee Finally Became Profitable in 2025, The Diplomat](https://thediplomat.com/2026/03/shopee-finally-became-profitable-in-2025/)
13. [Strategy, supply chain, and digital marketing for competitive advantage: A case of Shopee](https://journal.undiknas.ac.id/index.php/revenue/article/view/7380)
14. [The Rise and Fall, and Rise Again, of Sea Ltd, The Diplomat](https://thediplomat.com/2025/05/the-rise-and-fall-and-rise-again-of-sea-ltd/)
15. [Sea Ltd's stock soars on Shopee's growth. But TikTok and Temu loom large, The Ken](https://the-ken.com/story/sea-ltds-stock-soars-on-shopees-growth-but-tiktok-and-temu-loom-large/)
16. [Strategic Decision Analysis to Manage Competitive Advantage for Shopee Indonesia](https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/dad4/dc127e92fedef204e0ce63269d8d8458a260.pdf)
17. [Singapore's Sea beats quarterly revenue estimates on e-commerce strength, Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/technology/singapores-sea-beats-quarterly-revenue-estimates-e-commerce-strength-2025-03-04/)
18. [Sea Second Quarter 2026 Results Deck](https://cdn.sea.com/investor/2Q2026/wFBC39MbqnfLb3MGY6LP/2026.08.11%20Sea%20Second%20Quarter%202026%20Results%20Deck.pdf)
19. [sec.gov](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703399/000119312525045576/d930776dex991.htm)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Economics and business › Business and work › Business and work overview › Companies and corporations › Technology and internet companies*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 10, 2026 · Edited: Oct 10, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 10, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license