Sea Limited Tanks 27% Despite 73% Profit Jump
Sea's shares suffered their worst single-day plunge since 2023 after Q4 earnings fell short of estimates.
Sometimes beating last year's numbers just isn't enough. Sea Limited learned that the hard way on March 3 when its New York-listed shares cratered as much as 27% — the worst intraday drop the company has seen since 2023.
The trigger? Q4 net income came in at $410.9 million, a 73% year-over-year increase that sounds impressive until you compare it to the $442 million analysts were expecting. That $31 million gap was enough to spark a massive selloff.
A 73% profit surge getting punished this hard tells you everything about how the market prices expectations versus results. Sea delivered strong growth by almost any measure, but "almost" is the operative word when estimates are already baked into the stock price.
The drop marks Sea's sharpest single-session decline in over two years.