Connect with us

Published

on

MariBank, Singapore tech giant Sea Group’s digital bank, has launched in Singapore to select members of the public as it rolls out its services progressively.

Rafael Henrique | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Southeast Asian tech giant Sea Limited on Monday posted its first profitable year amid efforts to defend market share against Alibaba-owned Lazada and TikTok.

Net income in 2023 was $162.7 million, as compared to a net loss of $1.7 billion in 2022. There was a net loss of $111.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, as compared to net income of $422.8 million in the same period a year ago.

“In 2023, we achieved profitability, strengthened our market leadership for our e-commerce business, grew our digital financial services business, and stabilized the performance of our digital entertainment business,” said Forrest Li, chairman and CEO of Sea, on Monday. Before that, Sea was largely unprofitable, amassing billions of dollars in losses since its inception in 2009.

Sea operates in Southeast Asian markets and has businesses in e-commerce (Shopee), financial services (SeaMoney) and gaming (Garena).

“We have emerged with a much stronger balance sheet with our cash position increasing to 8.5 billion dollars as of the end of 2023, demonstrating the discipline and prudence we have applied in our investments over the past year,” said Li.

Sea’s New York-listed shares closed 5.58% higher on Monday. Li said the firm expects 2024 to be a profitable year as well.

Sea’s e-commerce arm Shopee made a “meaningful gain in market share” in 2023 despite “intensified competition in Southeast Asia,” the firm said on Monday. Sea also said Shopee’s market share in the region has “solidified” and the firm intends to “maintain our market share in 2024.”

Shopee faces stiff competition from players like Alibaba-owned Lazada and Indonesia’s Tokopedia in the region. Tokopedia merged with TikTok Shop in Indonesia to form an enlarged Tokopedia entity, in which TikTok will take a controlling stake of 75.01%.

GoTo-TikTok deal: It's 'worrying times' for Southeast Asian e-commerce, Bernstein says

In August, Sea said it would focus on growth over profits — a reversal from recent cost-cutting measures in the face of economic uncertainty. Analysts said the pivot was a move to defend market share.

SeaMoney reported its first year of profit in 2023. The firm also expects its flagship game Free Fire “to grow double-digits year-on-year for both user base and bookings in 2024.”

“We are pleased to see positive trends in both growth and profitability for all three of our businesses. Looking ahead, we will continue to invest for the future with discipline and focus,” Sea said in a press statement on Monday.

“Guidance was quite positive and surprising,” said Sachin Mittal of DBS Bank. The bank upgraded Sea from “hold” to “buy” with a target price of $75 after the earnings report.

“It has got to do with TikTok being not so aggressive in Indonesia. They achieved what they wanted [with] Tokopedia and is now dealing with regulatory compliance,” Mittal told CNBC on Tuesday.

CGS-CIMB Securities analyst Khang Chuen Ong on Tuesday upgraded Sea to “add” from “hold” with a price target increase to $74 per share from $46, representing 37% upside.

Wedbush on Monday raised their target price for Sea to $72 from $45, maintaining an “outperform” rating.

“We are increasingly constructive on shares given the growth and margin trajectory implied by management’s outlook, and we believe Sea is in the early stages of a successful turnaround as competitive pressures ease and investments in live streaming, user acquisition, and fulfillment begin to bear fruit,” said Wedbush analysts.

Continue Reading

Technology

Alphabet expects ‘slight headwind’ to ads business this year, executives say

Published

on

By

Alphabet expects 'slight headwind' to ads business this year, executives say

President Donald Trump’s trade policies will have a negative impact on Google parent Alphabet‘s core advertising business, an executive from the company said Thursday.

Alphabet, which reported stronger-than-expected revenue in its first quarter of the year, faces an online ads market that’s on edge due to concerns about how Trump’s tariffs will affect the economy and business spending. While the word “tariff” was never mentioned on Alphabet’s investor call Thursday, “macro” was mentioned several times as investors peppered company executives with questions about forward looking economic impacts amid new trade policies.

Several strategists increased their odds of a recession after Trump on April 2 announced tariffs for imports of goods into the U.S. from dozens of countries. On April 9, Trump lowered tariffs on many countries to 10% for three months.

Alphabet will likely be impacted by materials needed for technical infrastructure like data centers that it uses to power efforts in artificial intelligence. It could also see second-hand effects on advertising pull-back from budget constraints.

In Thursday’s investor call, Alphabet executives said it’s too early to tell just how much it will be impacted, but they said that there would likely be headwinds to its advertising business, particularly from the Asia–Pacific region of the world, or APAC.

“Any other factors you’re seeing in advertising verticals or regions or categories that could be showing any signs of weakness?” asked Brian Nowak of Morgan Stanley.

“We wouldn’t want to speculate about potential impacts beyond noting that the changes to the de minimis exemption will obviously cause a slight headwind to our ads business in 2025, primarily from APAC-based retailers,” said Philipp Schindler, Google’s chief business officer.

Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order that will impose a duty representing 30% of the value or $25 per item on shipments worth less than $800 that enter the U.S., starting May 2. The duty jumps to $50 per item on June 1. In February, Trump undid a loophole that since the 1930s had allowed such packages to be imported duty-free. The change brought logistical challenges that resulted in a delay of the implementation of the policy.

Retail, which Schindler said was among the top contributors to its advertising growth in the first quarter, represents at least 21% of Google ad revenue, according to estimates by Oppenheimer & Co. Chinese discount e-commerce apps Temu and Shein, which have been big advertisers in the U.S. in recent years, are of notable concern, and Temu has already pulled way back on spending.

“We’re obviously not immune to the macro environment,” Schindler added.

“Are they starting to react to some of these macro jitters that were we’re all experiencing?” asked Ross Sandler from Barclays about brands that advertise on YouTube.

Schindler said “it’s still too early in the second quarter to have a more specific view of things.” He added that Google has “a lot of experience in managing through uncertain times.”

“If macro weakens and we see more of a slowdown, would you expect to find additional opportunities to cut back more on costs?” asked Doug Anmuth from JPMorgan.

Alphabet CFO Anat Ashkenazi said the company is still looking at spending $75 billion in capital expenditures in 2025 but stipulated “the investment level may fluctuate from quarter to quarter due to the impact of changes in the timing of deliveries and construction schedules.” 

Expenditures will go toward technical infrastructure, primarily for servers, followed by data centers and networking, executives said in February.

The company is still focused on “driving efficiency and productivity throughout the organization,” Ashkenazi said on Thursday’s call, pointing to her 2024 comments, where she said the organization can “always push a little further” when it comes to cost cutting, which has included cuts to headcount and real estate.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai also mentioned “efficiency” as a means of trying to keep a lean-enough company to weather potential macro storms.

“If the macro environment were to change and become more downwardly volatile, how should investors think about the investments that are must-make this year, almost fixed in nature, versus where there might be more flexibility?” asked Eric Sheridan from Goldman Sachs.

Pichai responded that the company plans to continue consolidating teams and cutting back on costs elsewhere, which he said “should help us have a more resilient organization, irrespective of macroeconomic conditions.”

— CNBC’s Jordan Novet contributed to this report.

WATCH: Google earnings: What investors are looking for

Continue Reading

Technology

Intel CFO says tariffs increase chance for economic slowdown, recession getting likelier

Published

on

By

Intel CFO says tariffs increase chance for economic slowdown, recession getting likelier

The Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, California, US, on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. Intel Corp. is scheduled to release earnings figures on April 24.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Intel CFO David Zinsner said President Donald Trump’s tariffs and retaliation from other countries has increased the likelihood of a recession.

“The very fluid trade policies in the U.S. and beyond, as well as regulatory risks, have increased the chance of an economic slowdown, with the probability of a recession growing,” Zinsner said on the company’s quarterly earnings call on Thursday.

Intel reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, partially because some customers stockpiled chips ahead of tariffs, the company said. However, guidance for revenue and profit was below expectations, pushing the chipmaker’s stock down more than 5% in extended trading.

Intel’s forecast for the current quarter is $11.2 billion to $12.4 billion. Zinsner said the range is “wider than normal” due to uncertainty caused by tariffs.

The company’s outlook underscores how sensitive manufacturers are to trade restrictions, even for companies that are committed to building products in the U.S. While Intel manufactures some of its advanced processors domestically, it also partners with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Samsung in Korea to manufacture chips, and imports chipmaking machinery from ASML in Europe. The company also needs parts and materials that come from China.

Zinsner said the tariff environment makes it harder for Intel to predict its performance for the quarter and the year, and added that it’s now anticipating that the total market for its chips could shrink, especially if consumers stop buying new computers.

“The biggest risk we see is the impact of a potential pullback in investment and spending, as businesses and consumers react to higher costs and the uncertain economic backdrop,” Zinsner said.

Although Intel has enough production in disparate places around the world to mitigate some of the tariffs, the company “will certainly see costs increase,” he added.

One possibility is that consumers may opt for laptops and other computers based around older-generation chips, which are less expensive, said Michelle Johnston Holthaus, CEO of Intel Products.

“The macroeconomic concerns and tariffs have everybody kind of hedging their bets in what they need to have from an inventory perspective,” Holthaus said on the earnings call.

Beyond tariffs, Intel faces efforts by the U.S. government to require licenses to ship advanced chips for artificial intelligence to countries like China.

Intel’s earnings report on Thursday was its first under CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who was appointed to the job last month. Tan said he planned to cut Intel’s operational and capital expenses in order to make the company more efficient.

WATCH: Intel is dead money in its current strategic form, says Susquehanna Roland

Intel is dead money in its current strategic form, says Susquehanna Roland

Continue Reading

Technology

Waymo reports 250,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in U.S.

Published

on

By

Waymo reports 250,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in U.S.

A Waymo rider-only robotaxi is seen during a test ride in San Francisco, California, U.S., December 9, 2022. 

Paresh Dave | Reuters

Alphabet reported Thursday that Waymo, its autonomous vehicle unit, is now delivering more than 250,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in the U.S.

CEO Sundar Pichai said Waymo has options in terms of “business models across geographies,” and the robotaxi company is building partnerships with ride-hailing app Uber, automakers and operations and maintenance businesses that tend to its vehicle fleets.

“We can’t possibly do it all ourselves,” said Pichai on a call with analysts for Alphabet’s first-quarter earnings

Pichai noted that Waymo has not entirely defined its long-term business model, and there is “future optionality around personal ownership” of vehicles equipped with Waymo’s self-driving technology. The company is also exploring the ways it can scale up its operations, he said.

The 250,000 paid rides per week are up from 200,000 in February, before Waymo opened in Austin and expanded in the San Francisco Bay Area in March. 

Waymo, which is part of Alphabet’s Other Bets segment, is already running its commercial, driverless ride-hailing services in the San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin regions.

Earlier this month, Waymo and its partner Uber, began allowing interested riders to sign up to try the robotaxi service in Atlanta when it opens this summer. 

The early pioneer in self-driving technology, Waymo has managed to beat Elon Musk-led Tesla and a myriad of now-defunct autonomous vehicle startups to the U.S. market.

Tesla is promising that it will be able to turn its Model Y SUVs into robotaxis by the end of June for a driverless ride-hailing service it plans to launch in Austin.

After about a decade of promises and missed deadlines, Tesla still does not offer a vehicle that’s safe to use without a human at the wheel ready to steer or brake at all times.

Musk criticized Waymo’s approach to driverless tech on his company’s first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. Musk said Waymo autonomous vehicles are “very expensive” and made in only “low volume.” Tesla’s partially automated driving systems rely mostly on cameras to navigate, while Waymo’s driverless systems rely on lidar technology, other sensors and cameras.

Would-be competitors to Waymo also include Amazon-owned Zoox, Mobileye, May Mobility and international autonomous vehicle companies such as WeRide and Baidu’s Apollo Go.

WATCH: Tesla vs. Waymo: Musk casts doubt on Google’s robotaxi strategy

Tesla vs. Waymo: Musk casts doubt on Google's robotaxi strategy

Continue Reading

Trending