MercadoLibre, Inc. operates online commerce platforms in Latin America. It operates Mercado Libre Marketplace, an automated online commerce platform that enables businesses, merchants, and individuals to list merchandise and conduct sales and purchases online; and Mercado Pago FinTech, a financial technology solution platform, which facilitates transactions on and off its marketplaces by providing a mechanism that allows its users to send and receive payments online, as well as allows users to transfer money through their websites or on the apps. The company also offers Mercado Fondo that allows users to invest funds deposited in their Mercado Pago accounts; Mercado Credito, which extends loans to certain merchants and consumers; and Mercado Envios logistics solution that enables sellers on its platform to utilize third-party carriers and other logistics service providers, as well as fulfillment and warehousing services for sellers. In addition, it provides Mercado Libre Classifieds, an online classified listing service, where users can list and purchase motor vehicles, real estate, and services; Mercado Libre Ads, an advertising platform, which enables large retailers and brands to promote their products and services on the Internet; and Mercado Shops, an online storefronts solution that enables users to set-up, manage, and promote their own digital stores. MercadoLibre, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay.
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- Amazon for Latin America
- Amazon and PayPal combined for Latin America
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- MercadoLibre Marketplace: An online e-commerce platform connecting buyers and sellers across Latin America for various goods.
- Mercado Pago: A comprehensive fintech solution providing digital payment processing, a digital wallet, and various financial services for consumers and businesses.
- Mercado Envíos: A logistics and fulfillment service managing shipping and delivery for sellers using the MercadoLibre platform.
- Mercado Crédito: A credit solution offering loans and financing options to users and businesses within the MercadoLibre ecosystem.
- Mercado Shops: A platform enabling businesses to create their own customizable online stores with integrated payment and shipping solutions.
- Mercado Ads: A digital advertising platform allowing sellers to promote their products and brands within the MercadoLibre marketplace.
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MercadoLibre (symbol: MELI) operates a vast e-commerce and fintech ecosystem across Latin America. Its business model is a platform that serves millions of highly fragmented users rather than a few identifiable major corporate customers. Therefore, the most appropriate way to describe its customers is by categorizing the diverse groups it serves, which includes a significant base of individuals.
The following are up to three categories of customers that MercadoLibre serves across its marketplace, payments, credit, and logistics platforms:
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Individual Buyers (Consumers)
These are millions of individuals across Latin America who use the MercadoLibre marketplace to browse, purchase, and receive products and services. They also utilize Mercado Pago for secure online and in-store payments, and may access Mercado Crédito for personal loans, forming the demand side of the ecosystem.
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Individual Sellers & Small Entrepreneurs
This category comprises a large number of individuals and micro-businesses who leverage the MercadoLibre platform as their primary or supplementary channel to sell goods and services. They pay commissions on sales, utilize Mercado Pago for payment processing, Mercado Envíos for logistics, and may access working capital or business loans from Mercado Crédito. They are crucial for supplying the marketplace.
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Small to Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs)
SMBs are more established entities than individual entrepreneurs, representing a significant portion of sellers and merchants on the platform. These businesses use MercadoLibre extensively for their e-commerce operations, benefiting from its wide reach, advertising services, integrated payment solutions (Mercado Pago), fulfillment services (Mercado Envíos), and access to business financing through Mercado Crédito.
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- Amazon Web Services (part of Amazon.com, Inc., AMZN)
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- Visa Inc. (V)
- Mastercard Incorporated (MA)
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Marcos Galperin, Chairman, President & CEO
Marcos Galperin is the co-founder, Chairman, President, and CEO of MercadoLibre, Inc. He founded MercadoLibre in August 1999 while attending Stanford University. Prior to founding MercadoLibre, he completed a summer internship in the fixed income department of J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. in New York in 1998 and previously managed YPF S.A.'s currency and oil derivatives program in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 1994 to 1997. He earned an MBA from Stanford University in 1999 and graduated with honors from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1994.
Martin M. de los Santos, Chief Financial Officer
Martin M. de los Santos was appointed Chief Financial Officer of MercadoLibre on August 11, 2023, succeeding Pedro Arnt. He joined MercadoLibre in 2008 and has held various significant roles, including launching and scaling the company's credits division as Senior Vice President of Mercado Crédito. Before his tenure at MercadoLibre, he served as CFO of Vostu, a games company, and as Director of Business Development at Impsa. He also worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and as an associate at McKinsey & Co. Additionally, he was a founding partner at LID Group Venture Capital, which invested in startups in Argentina and Brazil. He holds an MBA from Stanford University and a B.S. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Daniel Rabinovich, Chief Operating Officer
Daniel Rabinovich serves as the Chief Operating Officer of MercadoLibre. He has also held the role of Chief Technology Officer at the company since January 2011.
Osvaldo Gimenez, President, Fintech
Osvaldo Gimenez is the President of Fintech at MercadoLibre and also serves as the CEO of Mercado Pago, MercadoLibre's financial services division. He joined MercadoLibre in January 2000 as the country manager for Argentina and Chile and has been responsible for leading Mercado Pago operations since 2004. Prior to joining MercadoLibre, Mr. Gimenez was an Associate with Booz and Company (now Booz Allen Hamilton), where he worked on strategy and organizational effectiveness projects for financial services and consumer products clients. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and an Industrial Engineering degree from the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology.
Ariel Szarfsztejn, Commerce President
Ariel Szarfsztejn has been the Commerce President at MercadoLibre since January 2024. He previously served as Executive Vice President of Commerce from January 2022. Mr. Szarfsztejn joined MercadoLibre in 2017 as Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development and led Mercado Envíos from 2018 to 2021. Before joining MercadoLibre, he managed the hotels business unit at Despegar and worked on strategy at Boston Consulting Group. He holds a Cum-Laude degree in Economics from the University of Buenos Aires and an MBA from Stanford University.
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The aggressive expansion of social commerce platforms, particularly TikTok Shop, into the Latin American e-commerce market. TikTok Shop has demonstrated significant growth and market capture in other regions (e.g., Southeast Asia, United States) by leveraging a unique blend of entertainment, influencer marketing, and direct selling. This model offers a distinct shopping experience that differs from traditional marketplace browsing. Given TikTok's vast user base and engagement in Latin America, an aggressive rollout of its direct e-commerce features (live shopping, in-app product showcases, streamlined seller tools) could divert a substantial portion of online consumer spending and merchant activity away from MercadoLibre's core marketplace. This represents a new competitive paradigm that prioritizes discovery and entertainment-driven purchasing, reminiscent of how new digital platforms disrupted incumbent businesses in the past.
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MercadoLibre (MELI) operates within significant addressable markets across Latin America for its main products and services, primarily e-commerce and fintech.
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Combined E-commerce and Fintech Market: MercadoLibre operates within a total addressable market (TAM) in Latin America estimated at $1 trillion. This market is focused on both e-commerce and fintech, and is expanding rapidly due to increasing internet penetration and a strong consumer shift towards online platforms.
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E-commerce Market: The e-commerce market in Latin America is projected to reach a valuation of $769 billion in 2025 and potentially hit the $1 trillion mark by 2027. This indicates a significant growth from its 2023 size. Another projection estimates online retail sales in the region to surge from $122 billion to $200 billion by 2026.
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Fintech Market (Mercado Pago): While a specific overall addressable market size for fintech in Latin America is not explicitly stated in a single figure like e-commerce, MercadoLibre's fintech arm, Mercado Pago, serves as a strong indicator of the market's scale. Mercado Pago processed $197 billion in payments in 2024 and boasts more than 60 million monthly users. The total payment volume within this segment surged by 72%.
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Digital Advertising Market: The digital advertising market in Latin America is expected to more than triple in size by 2028, surpassing $5 billion.
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Here are 5 expected drivers of future revenue growth for MercadoLibre (MELI) over the next 2-3 years:
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Increased E-commerce Penetration in Latin America: MercadoLibre's management consistently emphasizes the significant runway for growth due to the relatively low e-commerce penetration in Latin America compared to more developed regions. The company is actively investing to accelerate the shift of offline retail to online, which is expected to drive substantial growth in gross merchandise volume (GMV) and items sold.
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Expansion and Deepening of Fintech Services (Mercado Pago and Credit): The continued growth of Mercado Pago's monthly active users, increased engagement, and the significant expansion of its credit portfolio, particularly through credit card issuance, are key revenue drivers. These financial services aim to enhance financial inclusion in the region and increase the use of Mercado Pago as a primary financial service provider.
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Enhancements and Expansion of Logistics and Fulfillment Network: Strategic investments in and optimization of MercadoLibre's logistics and fulfillment infrastructure, including the opening of new fulfillment centers and the adoption of technologies like robotics, are crucial for supporting higher transaction volumes, enabling faster deliveries, and improving the overall user experience. These improvements are expected to reduce unit shipping costs and strengthen the company's competitive advantage.
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Growth in Unique Buyers and Enhanced User Engagement: MercadoLibre is focused on expanding its unique active buyer base and increasing user retention and purchase frequency. Initiatives such as lowering free shipping thresholds, particularly in key markets like Brazil, and improvements in loyalty programs are designed to attract new users and deepen engagement with existing ones, leading to higher transaction volumes.
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Growth in Advertising Revenue (Retail Media): Leveraging its vast audience and rich first-party data, MercadoLibre is well-positioned to capitalize on the growth of the retail media market in Latin America. The company is seeing significant growth in advertising revenue, which is currently outpacing GMV growth, and is expanding its offerings beyond traditional product ads.
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Share Repurchases
- MercadoLibre's board of directors authorized a share repurchase program of up to $4.05 million of its common stock, which expires on June 30, 2027.
- The company repurchased $356 million in shares in 2023 and $148 million in 2022.
- In January 2021, MercadoLibre announced the repurchase of approximately $440 million principal amount of its outstanding 2.00% convertible senior notes due 2028.
Share Issuance
- As of August 4, 2025, there were 50,697,375 shares of common stock issued and outstanding.
- The number of shares outstanding increased from 49,869,727 as of February 26, 2021, to 50,257,751 as of February 22, 2023.
Outbound Investments
- MercadoLibre plans to invest $5.8 billion in Brazil in 2025, focusing on logistics, technology for its e-commerce and fintech businesses, loyalty programs, entertainment, marketing, and hiring.
- The company announced plans to invest $3.4 billion in Mexico in 2025, which is a 38% increase compared to its investment in 2024, focusing on its tech product and financial services, and expanding its logistics center.
- MercadoLibre will invest over $550 million in Chile in 2025, an 18% increase over 2024 figures, with a focus on enhancing technological platforms and strengthening the logistics network.
Capital Expenditures
- Capital expenditures were $860 million in 2024, primarily allocated to scaling the logistics network.
- For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2025, capital expenditures amounted to $900 million, with significant investments in information and technology assets ($315 million) and shipping premises and offices ($498 million) in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina.
- MercadoLibre anticipates continued investments in capital expenditures related to information technology and logistics network capacity, with expected capital expenditures of $1,232 million for 2025 and $1,424 million for 2026.
