Sea Ltd gained over 3% in premarket trading.
Its margins likely improved further in 2Q on growth at its Shopee e-commerce and MariBank fintech businesses offsetting weakness at its Garena digital-entertainment segment, Maybank analyst Kelvin Tan says in a research note.
Tan says the Singapore-based internet company could break even in 2023 on a faster-than-expected improvement in cost-cutting and monetization in the e-commerce and fintech segments.
"We think Sea will continue to outperform its regional peers given its strong e-commerce (Shopee) leadership in Asean and with SeaMoney continuing to grow its fintech offerings and enhance operational capabilities," Maybank says.
However, the share price may face some volatility as Sea looks to quickly hit its profitability milestones, which could hurt the top line.
Maybank maintains a buy rating with a $105 target on the stock, which last closed at $61.18.