Market Movers - 26 July 2025
Stocks covered: SE, UBER, ADYEN, NU, MELI
Welcome back to the Wolf of Harcourt Street Newsletter.
Market Movers is your time-saving guide to crucial stock news, cutting through the noise.
With all that being said, let’s dive into today’s edition!
Todays Agenda
Sea Limited $400 million Impact from Shopee’s New Seller Order Fees
Uber Chinese Expansion via WeChat
Adyen Partnership with Worldwide Golf
Nubank NuCel Launches Physical Chip
Mercado Libre Mercado Play Sees 6x Growth in 18 Months
1. Sea Limited (SE) $400 million Impact from Shopee’s New Seller Order Fees
From July 2025, Shopee introduced significant fee changes for sellers in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
Indonesia: A flat order-processing fee of Rp1,250 ($0.08) per completed order was added to existing seller commissions, aiming to boost logistics and platform monetization.
Vietnam: A 3,000 VND ($0.12) "Platform Infrastructure Fee" was implemented per successful order, effective July 1. This applies to all sellers, with few exemptions, and is justified as supporting technology and infrastructure investment.
Malaysia: Starting July 16, Shopee added a Platform Support Fee of RM0.50 ($0.12) per successful order (excluding 8% sales tax). This fee applies to most sellers, excluding new or low-volume accounts and specific programs.
These charges, layered on top of existing commissions and transaction fees, reflect a regional strategy to offset operational costs and invest in platform improvements. Small and lower-margin sellers are likely to face a meaningful impact on profitability.
Source: Tech in Asia, Vietnam.vn, Shopee Malaysia
My Perspective: Shopee’s fee increases signal strength. You don’t raise fees if you’re worried about competition. Shopee clearly believes its value proposition is strong enough to justify a larger share of the transaction flow through its platform.
Based on Shopee’s estimated e-commerce market share in Southeast Asia in 2024, the incremental revenue impact could be significant:
Indonesia: With a $56.5 billion GMV and Shopee’s 46% share (~$26 billion), assuming an average order value of $10 implies 2.6 billion orders. At $0.08 per order, this equates to $208 million in new revenue.
Vietnam: With a $16.0 billion GMV and Shopee’s 65% share (~$10.4 billion), assuming $10 average order value implies 1 billion orders. At $0.12 per order, this results in $120 million in revenue.
Malaysia: With an $11.5 billion GMV and 62% share (~$7.13 billion), this implies 713 million orders. At $0.12 per order, the added revenue would be about $86 million.
Total Estimated Impact: $414 Million in incremental annual revenue, assuming order volumes hold steady.
2. Uber (UBER) Chinese Expansion via WeChat
Uber has launched a Weixin Mini Program allowing Chinese travelers to book and pay for rides in international destinations directly through Weixin (WeChat), China’s most widely used social and messaging app. The feature supports Weixin Pay and is fully localized in Chinese, offering a seamless booking experience.
Initially available in Hong Kong SAR and Japan, the program will soon expand to nine more markets, including the US, UK, and France. This move aligns with Uber’s global growth strategy by embedding its services into high-engagement local platforms like Weixin, which boasts over 1.1 billion monthly active Mini Program users.
With 130 million+ Chinese traveling abroad last year and further growth expected in 2025, this partnership supports both Uber’s international ambitions and Weixin’s goal of offering localised digital convenience.
Source: Uber
My Perspective: I believe the market is underestimating how significant this is. Very few Western tech firms have direct access to Chinese consumers, Google and Facebook are blocked, and Uber exited China in 2016 by selling to Didi.
Now Uber is back, targeting a high-spending, mobile-savvy segment of Chinese international travelers without challenging Didi domestically. Integrating into WeChat gives Uber access to a high-volume, high-value consumer base with minimal friction, using familiar payment and UX patterns. This could become a powerful new growth lever.
3. Adyen (ADYEN) Partnership with Worldwide Golf
Worldwide Golf, a long-established golf equipment and apparel retailer, has partnered with Adyen to unify its in-store and digital payment systems. The retailer will leverage Adyen’s single platform and SFO1 terminals to offer real-time transaction insights, reliable checkout, and flexible connectivity across nearly 100 stores and online channels. This integrated approach helps streamline operations, unlock customer insights, and enhance personalisation.
Source: Adyen IR
My Perspective: While this move marks a strategic entry into a specialised vertical, Adyen faces tough competition from niche players like GolfTranz, foreUp, and Golf Pro Payments, which offer golf-specific solutions. However, Adyen’s platform stands out for its ability to support both in-store and online payments, provide customer insights, and scale across industries.
Adyen has been working with golf brands since at least 2019 and continues expanding into verticals like sporting goods, including partnerships with Dick’s Sporting Goods. Despite golf’s specialisation, Adyen is positioning itself as a versatile platform that serves both niche and mainstream markets effectively.
4. Nubank (NU) NuCel Launches Physical Chip
Nubank has expanded its digital mobile service, NuCel, by launching a physical SIM chip option for customers in Brazil. It is free and delivered directly through the app, complementing the existing eSIM feature introduced in October 2024. The rollout will begin with users who previously registered interest. Alongside the launch, NuCel has enhanced its mobile plans, offering more data at no extra cost and lower prices for higher-tier plans.
Key features across all plans include unlimited calls, WhatsApp usage, Nubank app access, and a savings box yielding 120% of the CDI. With 93% national coverage and Brazil’s fastest 5G, NuCel provides flexible, no-contract planswith seamless app-based management. Additional perks are available for Ultravioleta and Nubank+ customers, such as bonus data and personalized plan recommendations. High customer satisfaction and strong adoption continue to reinforce Nubank’s ambitions to reshape mobile telecommunications in the region.
Source: Nubank IR
My Perspective: Nubank’s launch of physical NuCel SIM cards is highly strategic. It dramatically broadens its potential customer base beyond eSIM-compatible devices to include nearly the entire Brazilian smartphone market, where physical SIM usage remains dominant. This move could significantly accelerate user growth and deepen integration between Nubank’s digital banking ecosystem and users’ daily mobile connectivity.
5. Mercado Libre (MELI) Mercado Play Sees 6x Growth in 18 Months
MercadoLibre is making waves in streaming through its free, ad-supported platform, Mercado Play, now available in eight countries. Rather than competing with giants like Netflix, the service is designed to complement paid subscriptions and deepen user engagement within the broader MercadoLibre ecosystem.
Since launching 20 months ago, Mercado Play has grown from 1 million to over 6 million monthly viewers as of July 2025. It boasts more than 8.8 million app downloads and a catalog of 15,900 hours of content across 2,500 titles. Accessible on over 70 million smart TVs, the platform is already used by around 15% of MercadoLibre users. Looking ahead, the company plans to double its user base, expand content, including sports and music, and roll out new ad formats via Mercado Ads, its in-house advertising unit. This strategy connects streaming consumption with shopping behaviour, particularly during off-peak e-commerce hours, creating a complementary experience that enhances user retention and engagement across the entire platform.
Source: Bloomberg
My Perspective: Mercado Play’s rapid user growth is strengthening engagement and loyalty across the MercadoLibre ecosystem, positioning it as a key catalyst for the company’s broader strategy. As a free, integrated feature within the super app, Play drives daily user interaction and supports adoption of e-commerce, payments, and advertising services. Its growing viewership expands high-margin video ad inventory, accelerating revenue growth for Mercado Ads. Streaming also provides valuable first-party data, enhancing targeting and cross-selling across the platform. With Play now available on over 70 million smart TVs, MercadoLibre is reaching new households and improving retention through free, quality content. These dynamics create a flywheel effect that reinforces MercadoLibre’s ecosystem advantage beyond traditional e-commerce.
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Wolf of Harcourt Street
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Twitter: @wolfofharcourt
Email: wolfofharcourtstreet@gmail.com