Will Sea make a profit again?

In CEO's 1300-word missive, sent out about a week before the company is set to report its next earnings, Chief Executive Officer Li addressed head-on the painful struggles Sea went through during its turnaround effort. Sea was at one point in 2020 the world’s best-performing stock, buoyed by hopes the company would embody Southeast Asia’s nascent e-commerce and entertainment boom. But the company then lost about $160 billion of market value since a peak in October 2021 on questions about its money-making prospects and a global decline in tech stocks.

“This past year was probably the most difficult period in the history of our company,” Li said, describing “painful” decisions including layoffs the management had to take to navigate a worsening business environment.

Last year, Sea cut about 3,500 people from its workforce, according to its annual report. In September, the leadership team said they would forgo their salaries and tighten company expense policies until the company reaches self-sufficiency.

“The external environment is still a challenging one,” Li said. “With self-sufficiency, we have a foundation for strong growth once again.”