What Is Behind The Move In MercadoLibre Stock?
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MercadoLibre (MELI) shares lost 12.0% on Thursday, November 5, 2026, during a session in which the S&P 500 fell 4.4%. The drop followed the company’s third-quarter earnings report the previous day. All five companies on MercadoLibre’s peer list also fell during the session. So what did MercadoLibre’s third quarter show?
MercadoLibre Beat Sales Estimates, But Profit Margins Shrank
Revenue for the quarter ended September 30 came to $10.8 billion, above the $10.69 billion analysts had expected, but profit fell short of estimates. Earnings came to $8.83 per share, below the consensus estimate of $9.41. Sales grew 45.1% from a year earlier, yet the company kept less of each dollar as profit. Its operating margin narrowed to 6.3% of revenue, from 9.8% a year earlier. Most of that fall occurred before the third quarter, with the margin down 0.4 points from the second quarter.
Management said on the November 4 call that higher net shipping costs and increased sales and marketing spending on an expanding affiliate program lowered the margin from the second quarter. Management called these deliberate investments. The company added almost 20% to its fulfillment space from the previous quarter ahead of its peak season, and higher energy prices raised its transportation costs. The marketing budget funded the affiliate program in Brazil to strengthen the company’s presence on social media. Management said orders through that channel grew 240% from a year earlier.
Peers Fell Too, But MercadoLibre Fell Much Further
The broader market was weak that day, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping 5.5%. The SPDR sector fund for consumer discretionary stocks (XLY), MercadoLibre’s sector, fell 3.8%. Every company on MercadoLibre’s peer list also fell, ranging from a 1.4% drop for eBay to 6.1% for Shopify. MercadoLibre moved with its group, but its decline was more than three times the sector fund’s.
Days that bad are rare. After the last 21, the S&P 500 was higher a year later in all but one.
MercadoLibre Stock Closed At A One-Year Low
Such a large drop is rare for MercadoLibre. In the prior 365 days, the stock had fallen this much in only one session, dropping 12.7% on May 8, 2026.
The November 5 close of $1,530.28 was the stock’s lowest close of the past year, compared with a high close of $2,301.88 on November 5, 2025. Over the past twelve months, the stock lost 33.6%, while the S&P 500 returned 9.9%. In the month to November 5 alone, MercadoLibre lost 18.3%, against a 5.7% fall for the S&P 500.
MercadoLibre is expected to report its fourth-quarter results in February 2027, and its operating margin is the measure to watch.
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