MercadoLibre, Inc. (Nasdaq: MELI) — research brief (BMC #061 on gallery, queue id 60)

Prepared 2026-10-10 (America/Chicago). Labels: FACT = stated by Mercado Libre in its Form 10-K FY2025, Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 Jun 2026, Q4 2025 and Q2 2026 shareholder letters (8-K Ex. 99.1), a Sep 2026 Form 8-K, or its developer documentation; SECONDARY = third-party reporting (only the seller fee ranges below); INFERENCE = arithmetic or reasoning by this project from company-stated numbers. No invented figures. Fiscal year = calendar year, reported in USD. Non-GAAP measures (FX-neutral growth, Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted free cash flow) and NIMAL are company-defined. Quarterly figures are unaudited.

Sources (accessed 2026-10-10)

Form 10-K FY2025 (filed 25 Feb 2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1099590/000109959026000006/meli-20251231.htm
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 Jun 2026 (filed 6 Aug 2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1099590/000109959026000023/meli-20260630.htm
Q2 2026 shareholder letter / earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1, 5 Aug 2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1099590/000109959026000021/meli-20260805xex991.htm
Q4/FY2025 shareholder letter / earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1, 24 Feb 2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1099590/000109959026000003/meli-20260224xex991.htm
Form 8-K, 14 Sep 2026 ($1B 5.850% Notes due 2036 closed): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1099590/000114036126036495/ef20081942_8k.htm
Developer documentation, "Custos por vender" (updated 3 Sep 2026): https://developers.mercadolivre.com.br/pt_br/comissao-por-vender
SECONDARY seller-fee ranges: https://www.3dsellers.com/marketplaces/mercado-libre (Mexico) and https://www.connectweek.com.br/ferramenta/calculadora-taxas-mercado-livre (Brazil)
Investor relations: https://investor.mercadolibre.com
Logo: no official or Simple Icons asset for "Mercado Libre" was available (Simple Icons has only Mercado Pago, a different mark); a letter monogram "M" is used, as for other companies in this gallery.
Raw text in /workspace/mercadolibre-src/ (10k.txt, 10q.txt, ex99.txt, q4.txt).

Teaching arc

Free shipping wins the shopper; Mercado Pago holds, pays and lends their money. FY2025 revenue was $28.9B (+39%): Commerce $16.3B (56%) — marketplace fees, shipping, ads, classifieds, MELI+ and first-party sales — and Fintech $12.6B (44%), which grew faster (+46% vs +34%, INFERENCE). Credit is both engine and bill: credit revenues $5.86B against provisions of $3.09B (+66%), about 53% of credit revenue (INFERENCE), with NIMAL falling 28.2% → 22.4% (FY24→FY25) and 20.7% in Q2 2026 as lower-spread credit cards rise to 47% of a $16.4B gross loan book (+75% YoY per the letter). Operating margin slid from 12.7% to 11.1% (operating income $3.2B, net income $2.0B) and to 6.7% in Q2 2026 (from 12.2%), which management calls a deliberate reinvestment (Brazil free-shipping threshold cut from R$79 to R$19, PIX discounts and seller take-rate cuts, more 1P and cross-border, card issuance). The thesis they sell: users who use both sides ("ecosystemic") generate 70% more GMV, and cardholders are 2–3x likelier to stay ecosystemic; ads (>10% share of LatAm digital ads, +62% FX-neutral in Q2 2026) are the high-margin layer on top.

Key numbers

FY2025 (10-K, FACT unless noted)

Net revenues and financial income $28,893M (FY24 $20,777M, +39%; FY23 $15,107M). Service revenues and financial income $25,286M; product revenues $3,607M.
Commerce $16,294M (services $12,750M + product sales $3,544M) vs $12,159M; Fintech $12,599M (financial services and income $6,678M; credit revenues $5,858M; device sales $63M) vs $8,618M. INFERENCE: Commerce 56.4% / Fintech 43.6% of revenue; growth +34.0% / +46.2%.
Revenue by segment: Brazil $15,201M (INFERENCE 52.6%), Mexico $6,475M (22.4%), Argentina $5,962M (20.6%), Other $1,255M. Local-currency revenue growth 52.4% (Brazil 37.0%, Mexico 43.5%, Argentina 111.7%).
Cost of net revenues and financial expenses $16,035M (55.5% of revenue vs 53.9%): shipping operating and carrier costs +$1,912M, cost of goods sold +$1,166M, collection fees +$533M, other fintech costs (mainly funding) +$523M, sales taxes +$418M, hosting +$210M. Gross profit $12,858M (44.5% margin vs 46.1%).
Operating expenses $9,657M: product and technology $2,269M (7.9% of revenue), sales and marketing $3,219M, provision for doubtful accounts $3,091M (10.7% of revenue vs 8.9%; +66.4%), G&A $1,078M. Income from operations $3,201M (INFERENCE 11.1% margin; FY24 $2,631M, 12.7%). Net income $1,997M (FY24 $1,911M). Adjusted EBITDA $4,019M (non-GAAP). Adjusted free cash flow $1,481M (non-GAAP). Capex $1,327M (FY24 $860M).
INFERENCE: provisions ÷ credit revenues = 52.8% (FY24: $1,858M ÷ $3,600M = 51.6%).
KPIs: unique active buyers 121M (FY24 100M); Fintech MAUs 78M (61M); GMV $65,037M (+26% vs $51,467M, INFERENCE); items sold 2,429M; TPV $277,823M; Acquiring TPV $188,105M; payment transactions 15,470M; NIMAL 22.4% (28.2%, 36.2%).
Employees 123,670 (Brazil 61,139; Mexico 34,336; Argentina 16,726); 20,347 in IT and product development (+11%). Marketplace in 18 countries, Mercado Pago in 8. 3P sellers are most of GMV; 1P is under 10% of GMV.
Mercado Envios: fulfillment centers (more than half of shipments), cross-docking, MELI Places partner stores, dedicated aircraft and trucks; "vast majority" of last-mile vans owned and operated by third-party carriers.
Cards: debit/prepaid and Brazil credit under VISA; Argentina/Chile prepaid and Mexico/Argentina credit under MasterCard. Funding: selling card receivables, credit lines, securitizations (SPEs in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina), deposit certificates, financial bills, commercial notes, bank loans, $800M revolving credit commitment.

Q4 2025 letter (24 Feb 2026, FACT)

Q4 revenue $8,759M (+45%); operating income $889M incl. $99M one-off Brazilian tax credits (10.1%; 9.0% ex-credits); net income $559M. Credit portfolio $12.5B (+90% YoY); credit-card 15–90 NPL 4.4%; credit NIMAL 23.3%. AUM from $2B to almost $19B in three years; Fintech MAU 78M. 1P GMV more than $4B (+80% FX-neutral in 2025). MELI+ Essencial R$9.90/month; MELI+ Mega with Disney+, Netflix, HBO Max, Apple TV+. Free shipping threshold in Brazil lowered to R$19 (from R$79). First fulfillment center in China (December). Ads +67% FX-neutral in Q4.

Q2 2026 (10-Q, shareholder letter, FACT unless noted)

Revenue $10,169M (+50% USD, +43% FX-neutral): Commerce $5,762M (+50%): services $4,301M + product sales $1,461M; Fintech $4,407M (+49%): financial services and income $2,113M, credit revenues $2,278M, device sales $16M. H1 revenue $19,014M (+49%).
Gross profit $4,159M (INFERENCE 40.9% margin vs 45.6%). Opex $3,476M: product and technology $729M (7.2%), sales and marketing $1,131M, provision for doubtful accounts $1,276M (vs $690M), G&A $340M. Income from operations $683M (6.7%; vs $825M, −17%). Net income $466M (4.6% margin; vs $523M). Adjusted EBITDA $975M; adjusted free cash flow $214M (H1: $158M vs $512M). Capex $441M.
TPV $100,952M (+56%); Acquiring TPV $64,079M (+42% FX-neutral); GMV $21,926M (+44%, +36% FX-neutral); items sold 795M; Fintech MAUs 88M; unique buyers 89M in the quarter (117M in H1).
Loans receivable (gross / allowance / net) at 30 Jun 2026: merchant $2,537M/$1,009M; consumer $5,772M/$1,905M; credit cards $7,676M/$1,440M; asset-backed $390M/$25M; total $16,375M / $4,379M / $11,996M (31 Dec 2025: $12,508M / $3,143M / $9,365M). INFERENCE: allowance 26.7% of gross loans; credit cards 46.9%.
Letter: credit portfolio above $16B (+75% YoY); consolidated NIMAL 20.7% (−2 pts YoY, +3 pts QoQ); credit-card NIMAL −2.5%; 2.6M new cards; 15–90 NPL 7.0% overall, 4.6% for cards; AUM $23B (+68%); AUM per user $264 (+29%). Ecosystemic users +37% YoY; ecosystemic users generated 70% more GMV than marketplace-only users; MELI+ subscribers +72%; active sellers +29%; ads net revenue +62% FX-neutral, >10% of LatAm digital ad market; CBT GMV +60% FX-neutral; 1.4M active POS devices in Mexico; AI investment +$80M YoY.
Balance sheet 30 Jun 2026: total assets $51,356M; loans receivable net $11,412M current + $584M non-current; funds payable to customers $16,035M; loans payable and other financial liabilities $6,482M + $4,144M; net debt (non-GAAP) $6,425M.
8-K 14 Sep 2026: closed $1,000M 5.850% Notes due 2036.

Pricing / fees

FACT (developer docs, updated 3 Sep 2026): sale fee is always a percentage of price by category and listing type; Brazilian rates can vary by other objective parameters; a fixed per-unit fee applies below a site-specific free-shipping threshold depending on logistic type.
SECONDARY: Brazil Clássico ~10–14%, Premium ~15–19%; Mexico Clásica ~8–16%, Premium ~12.5–20.5% (third-party sites; confirm in seller account).
FACT (Q4 letter): MELI+ Essencial R$9.90/month in Brazil.

Open questions / not disclosed

Mercado Ads revenue in dollars and Mercado Envios revenue are not broken out in the filings read; only growth rates and share-of-market claims. The canvas therefore makes no ad-dollar claim.
Provisions relate to financial assets "mainly loans receivable", so provisions ÷ credit revenue is an approximation.

# MercadoLibre, Inc. (Nasdaq: MELI) — research brief (BMC #061 on gallery, queue id 60) Prepared 2026-10-10 (America/Chicago). Labels: **FACT** = stated by Mercado Libre in its Form 10-K FY2025, Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 Jun 2026, Q4 2025 and Q2 2026 shareholder letters (8-K Ex. 99.1), a Sep 2026 Form 8-K, or its developer documentation; **SECONDARY** = third-party reporting (only the seller fee ranges below); **INFERENCE** = arithmetic or reasoning by this project from company-stated numbers. No invented figures. Fiscal year = calendar year, reported in USD. Non-GAAP measures (FX-neutral growth, Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted free cash flow) and NIMAL are company-defined. Quarterly figures are unaudited. ## Sources (accessed 2026-10-10) - Form 10-K FY2025 (filed 25 Feb 2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1099590/000109959026000006/meli-20251231.htm - Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 Jun 2026 (filed 6 Aug 2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1099590/000109959026000023/meli-20260630.htm - Q2 2026 shareholder letter / earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1, 5 Aug 2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1099590/000109959026000021/meli-20260805xex991.htm - Q4/FY2025 shareholder letter / earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1, 24 Feb 2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1099590/000109959026000003/meli-20260224xex991.htm - Form 8-K, 14 Sep 2026 ($1B 5.850% Notes due 2036 closed): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1099590/000114036126036495/ef20081942_8k.htm - Developer documentation, "Custos por vender" (updated 3 Sep 2026): https://developers.mercadolivre.com.br/pt_br/comissao-por-vender - SECONDARY seller-fee ranges: https://www.3dsellers.com/marketplaces/mercado-libre (Mexico) and https://www.connectweek.com.br/ferramenta/calculadora-taxas-mercado-livre (Brazil) - Investor relations: https://investor.mercadolibre.com - Logo: no official or Simple Icons asset for "Mercado Libre" was available (Simple Icons has only Mercado Pago, a different mark); a letter monogram "M" is used, as for other companies in this gallery. - Raw text in /workspace/mercadolibre-src/ (10k.txt, 10q.txt, ex99.txt, q4.txt). ## Teaching arc **Free shipping wins the shopper; Mercado Pago holds, pays and lends their money.** FY2025 revenue was **$28.9B (+39%)**: **Commerce $16.3B (56%)** — marketplace fees, shipping, ads, classifieds, MELI+ and first-party sales — and **Fintech $12.6B (44%)**, which grew faster (+46% vs +34%, INFERENCE). Credit is both engine and bill: **credit revenues $5.86B** against **provisions of $3.09B (+66%)**, about **53%** of credit revenue (INFERENCE), with NIMAL falling **28.2% → 22.4%** (FY24→FY25) and **20.7%** in Q2 2026 as lower-spread credit cards rise to 47% of a **$16.4B** gross loan book (+75% YoY per the letter). Operating margin slid from 12.7% to **11.1%** (operating income $3.2B, net income $2.0B) and to **6.7%** in Q2 2026 (from 12.2%), which management calls a deliberate reinvestment (Brazil free-shipping threshold cut from R$79 to R$19, PIX discounts and seller take-rate cuts, more 1P and cross-border, card issuance). The thesis they sell: users who use both sides ("ecosystemic") generate 70% more GMV, and cardholders are 2–3x likelier to stay ecosystemic; ads (>10% share of LatAm digital ads, +62% FX-neutral in Q2 2026) are the high-margin layer on top. ## Key numbers **FY2025 (10-K, FACT unless noted)** - Net revenues and financial income $28,893M (FY24 $20,777M, +39%; FY23 $15,107M). Service revenues and financial income $25,286M; product revenues $3,607M. - Commerce $16,294M (services $12,750M + product sales $3,544M) vs $12,159M; Fintech $12,599M (financial services and income $6,678M; credit revenues $5,858M; device sales $63M) vs $8,618M. INFERENCE: Commerce 56.4% / Fintech 43.6% of revenue; growth +34.0% / +46.2%. - Revenue by segment: Brazil $15,201M (INFERENCE 52.6%), Mexico $6,475M (22.4%), Argentina $5,962M (20.6%), Other $1,255M. Local-currency revenue growth 52.4% (Brazil 37.0%, Mexico 43.5%, Argentina 111.7%). - Cost of net revenues and financial expenses $16,035M (55.5% of revenue vs 53.9%): shipping operating and carrier costs +$1,912M, cost of goods sold +$1,166M, collection fees +$533M, other fintech costs (mainly funding) +$523M, sales taxes +$418M, hosting +$210M. Gross profit $12,858M (44.5% margin vs 46.1%). - Operating expenses $9,657M: product and technology $2,269M (7.9% of revenue), sales and marketing $3,219M, provision for doubtful accounts $3,091M (10.7% of revenue vs 8.9%; +66.4%), G&A $1,078M. Income from operations $3,201M (INFERENCE 11.1% margin; FY24 $2,631M, 12.7%). Net income $1,997M (FY24 $1,911M). Adjusted EBITDA $4,019M (non-GAAP). Adjusted free cash flow $1,481M (non-GAAP). Capex $1,327M (FY24 $860M). - INFERENCE: provisions ÷ credit revenues = 52.8% (FY24: $1,858M ÷ $3,600M = 51.6%). - KPIs: unique active buyers 121M (FY24 100M); Fintech MAUs 78M (61M); GMV $65,037M (+26% vs $51,467M, INFERENCE); items sold 2,429M; TPV $277,823M; Acquiring TPV $188,105M; payment transactions 15,470M; NIMAL 22.4% (28.2%, 36.2%). - Employees 123,670 (Brazil 61,139; Mexico 34,336; Argentina 16,726); 20,347 in IT and product development (+11%). Marketplace in 18 countries, Mercado Pago in 8. 3P sellers are most of GMV; 1P is under 10% of GMV. - Mercado Envios: fulfillment centers (more than half of shipments), cross-docking, MELI Places partner stores, dedicated aircraft and trucks; "vast majority" of last-mile vans owned and operated by third-party carriers. - Cards: debit/prepaid and Brazil credit under VISA; Argentina/Chile prepaid and Mexico/Argentina credit under MasterCard. Funding: selling card receivables, credit lines, securitizations (SPEs in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina), deposit certificates, financial bills, commercial notes, bank loans, $800M revolving credit commitment. **Q4 2025 letter (24 Feb 2026, FACT)** - Q4 revenue $8,759M (+45%); operating income $889M incl. $99M one-off Brazilian tax credits (10.1%; 9.0% ex-credits); net income $559M. Credit portfolio $12.5B (+90% YoY); credit-card 15–90 NPL 4.4%; credit NIMAL 23.3%. AUM from $2B to almost $19B in three years; Fintech MAU 78M. 1P GMV more than $4B (+80% FX-neutral in 2025). MELI+ Essencial R$9.90/month; MELI+ Mega with Disney+, Netflix, HBO Max, Apple TV+. Free shipping threshold in Brazil lowered to R$19 (from R$79). First fulfillment center in China (December). Ads +67% FX-neutral in Q4. **Q2 2026 (10-Q, shareholder letter, FACT unless noted)** - Revenue $10,169M (+50% USD, +43% FX-neutral): Commerce $5,762M (+50%): services $4,301M + product sales $1,461M; Fintech $4,407M (+49%): financial services and income $2,113M, credit revenues $2,278M, device sales $16M. H1 revenue $19,014M (+49%). - Gross profit $4,159M (INFERENCE 40.9% margin vs 45.6%). Opex $3,476M: product and technology $729M (7.2%), sales and marketing $1,131M, provision for doubtful accounts $1,276M (vs $690M), G&A $340M. Income from operations $683M (6.7%; vs $825M, −17%). Net income $466M (4.6% margin; vs $523M). Adjusted EBITDA $975M; adjusted free cash flow $214M (H1: $158M vs $512M). Capex $441M. - TPV $100,952M (+56%); Acquiring TPV $64,079M (+42% FX-neutral); GMV $21,926M (+44%, +36% FX-neutral); items sold 795M; Fintech MAUs 88M; unique buyers 89M in the quarter (117M in H1). - Loans receivable (gross / allowance / net) at 30 Jun 2026: merchant $2,537M/$1,009M; consumer $5,772M/$1,905M; credit cards $7,676M/$1,440M; asset-backed $390M/$25M; total $16,375M / $4,379M / $11,996M (31 Dec 2025: $12,508M / $3,143M / $9,365M). INFERENCE: allowance 26.7% of gross loans; credit cards 46.9%. - Letter: credit portfolio above $16B (+75% YoY); consolidated NIMAL 20.7% (−2 pts YoY, +3 pts QoQ); credit-card NIMAL −2.5%; 2.6M new cards; 15–90 NPL 7.0% overall, 4.6% for cards; AUM $23B (+68%); AUM per user $264 (+29%). Ecosystemic users +37% YoY; ecosystemic users generated 70% more GMV than marketplace-only users; MELI+ subscribers +72%; active sellers +29%; ads net revenue +62% FX-neutral, >10% of LatAm digital ad market; CBT GMV +60% FX-neutral; 1.4M active POS devices in Mexico; AI investment +$80M YoY. - Balance sheet 30 Jun 2026: total assets $51,356M; loans receivable net $11,412M current + $584M non-current; funds payable to customers $16,035M; loans payable and other financial liabilities $6,482M + $4,144M; net debt (non-GAAP) $6,425M. - 8-K 14 Sep 2026: closed $1,000M 5.850% Notes due 2036. **Pricing / fees** - FACT (developer docs, updated 3 Sep 2026): sale fee is always a percentage of price by category and listing type; Brazilian rates can vary by other objective parameters; a fixed per-unit fee applies below a site-specific free-shipping threshold depending on logistic type. - SECONDARY: Brazil Clássico ~10–14%, Premium ~15–19%; Mexico Clásica ~8–16%, Premium ~12.5–20.5% (third-party sites; confirm in seller account). - FACT (Q4 letter): MELI+ Essencial R$9.90/month in Brazil. ## Open questions / not disclosed - Mercado Ads revenue in dollars and Mercado Envios revenue are not broken out in the filings read; only growth rates and share-of-market claims. The canvas therefore makes no ad-dollar claim. - Provisions relate to financial assets "mainly loans receivable", so provisions ÷ credit revenue is an approximation.